SAD 59 open to merger talks

Morning Sentinel, June 18, 2008

(excerpt) The SAD 59 school board Monday night voted to ask the neighboring Anson and Bingham school districts to explore collaboration for a possible combined regional school unit, school officials said Tuesday.

"The board elected to have (Superintendent) Michael Gallagher talk to SAD 74 and SAD 13 boards to see if they want to sign a notice of intent with us," SAD 59 school board Vice Chairman Troy Emery said Tuesday.

Emery also is chairman of the SAD 59 Reorganization Planning Committee. "And if they say yes," Emery continued. "We'll sit down with them, with the financial templates from the Department of Education and try to make this work.

"If they say no, then the board needs to have more discussion on what 59's next step will be."

Any consolidation into a Regional School Unit (RSU) would also include SAD 53 in Pittsfield.

Emery said it is too early to even discuss the prospect of closing one of the high schools in either SAD 74, 13 or 59 as part of the reorganization plan, once and if it is hatched.

Monday's unanimous SAD 59 board vote comes on the heels of the defeat June 10 of formal consolidation with the Pittsfield district.