Bartlett School Board members welcome Conway tuition contract

Gorham High off the table, Fryeburg needs more information

Frank Moffatt favors a new eight-town high school. "I say that as a citizen, as a board member and as the chairman of the Mount Washington Valley Career and Technical Advisory Council)," he said at last week's Bartlett School Board meeting. "I've made no secret that I would like to see us in a regional high school. I'd like to thank Rebecca (Moore) and her (Conway School Board building) committee for doing all they could to present something that can work for everyone."Earlier this month, Moore's committee released its costs projects for a new $46 million high school to be built in Conway for grades 9 through 12. Bartlett would pay an estimated 13 percent more. Vicki Harlow, chairman, also welcomed Conway's tuition contract proposal. "I'm really grateful to Carl (Nelson) and the Conway School Board for sticking it out and hammering out something we can all live with. (Kennett High Principal) Jack Loynd is another person who has done a fabulous job of making all the numbers work out."How much each town would pay now depends more heavily on the number of students it sends, with a new formula for operating expenses based 35 percent on equalized property valuation and 65 percent on average daily membership. This replaces the 50-50 formula initially included in the tuition contracts. Under the new formula there is less disparity between tax impacts on property-rich and property-poor towns. Capital costs are still based 100 percent on equalized valuation. For Bartlett, the estimated impact of a new high school dropped from $1.46 at 50-50 to $1.28 under the new formula, which results in a 13 percent increase to the tax rate from $9.84 to $11.12."I think all of the towns are seeing that there are financial advantages to sticking together as well as educational opportunities," Harlow said. "The new formula seems more fair. Being able to remove the junior high from the equation was an important element for a number of people in our town."Bartlett School Board sent a copy of the proposed tuition contract to its attorney (Gordon Graham) for review. "He came up with about 11 suggestions he'd like us to propose to Conway," Harlow said. "He had some similar concerns to the board about an accreditation component and special education. We'll be discussing these suggestions with Conway and their attorney. I think we can come up with a document we can all live with."Bartlett School Board has also been pursuing other secondary education options: a two-town high school with Jackson and possible tuition arrangements with Gorham High School and Fryeburg Academy.The board recently learned that Gorham is not interested in any tuition arrangement at this time while Fryeburg needs more information.SAU 9 Superintendent Carl Nelson contacted the superintendent for Gorham School District and the headmaster at Fryeburg Academy last month on behalf of Bartlett School Board to see if there was any interest. The board was presented with the responses last week at its monthly meeting."A phone response from Superintendent John Caldon indicated that there would be no way they could consider accepting Bartlett secondary students at this time," was the note Nelson presented from Gorham."In reference to your inquiry on behalf of Bartlett," Dan Lee, headmaster for Fryeburg Academy, wrote, "any decision to add approximately 145 students to our enrollment will have to made by our board of trustees. As I am sure you will understand, our board will need sufficient time and additional information before facing such a decision."Lee stated that tuition for out-of-district day students is currently $13,375 per student. "It would be particularly helpful for us to know," Lee continued, "when might an arrangement begin and does Bartlett see the arrangement as permanent or temporary?" "At least we know now what we're looking at (in terms of options)," Harlow said. Harlow said she's interested in learning more about the two-town high school. Last week, Adam Hirshan, of Bartlett Jackson Cooperative School Board, presented a rough estimate of costs for "bare-bones" two-town high school. Based on a $9 million building with a $2.5 million operating budget, Hirshan said in Bartlett, the estimated impact of a new high school would be a 22.1 percent increase to the school tax rate from $9.84 to $12.02, which is 90 cents more than the proposed Conway tuition contract."I know the presentation was a bare-bones proposal," Harlow said. "I need to look at it to see how it is with the meat and skin on it."