WHITEFIELD — If you live in Regional School Unit 12, Superintendent Greg Potter is probably coming to a town hall near you.

Potter will make presentations to officials and residents in the eight district towns focusing largely on projections of what the towns would have to spend on education if they were not part of the regional school unit.

“We’re trying to show some of the benefits of the consolidation and what the consolidation has done,” he said in an interview. “I think, in many respects, it’s managed to keep small schools open.”

In January, Wiscasset will be allowed to start the process of withdrawing from the eight-town school district; the town will empanel a committee of citizens to explore the idea.

“This fall and early winter is going to be kind of a critical time,” Potter said.

Potter met with Wiscasset selectmen in June and with Alna selectmen last week. He plans to attend selectmen’s meetings in the other six towns — Chelsea, Palermo, Somerville, Westport Island, Whitefield and Windsor — in the coming months, but has not scheduled anything.

Wiscasset makes the largest contribution to the RSU 12 budget and, if it had not joined the school district, would have lost approximately $2 million in state subsidy, Potter said.

Wiscasset Town Manager Laurie Smith said the residents who heard Potter’s presentation had to absorb a lot of information.

“I think that some of the citizens had questions about the material he presented,” she said. “I think what was difficult about the material is you’re talking about a very complicated set of formulas, and you’re trying to do projections.”

A week after Potter spoke at the June 7 meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Wiscasset voters rejected the RSU 12 budget. The other seven towns approved the budget, and it passed overall.

Wiscasset’s vote was disappointing but not surprising, Potter said. Residents there have concerns beyond finances, including a controversy over replacing Wiscasset High School’s mascot, the Redskins.

He said he hopes residents of the school district will do their homework regarding the value of being part of RSU 12.

“The only thing we can do as a school unit is continue to do the best job we can to educate the kids and take care of their needs, and continue to take care of our programs and our system,” Potter said.

Susan McMillan — 621-5645

smcmillan@mainetoday.com