KINGFIELD — As the town began investigating what it would mean to pull out of School Administrative District 58 last week, recently resigned Mt. Abram High School teacher Brian Twitchell said residents need to explore all angles.

Kingfield voters will decide on July 16 whether to officially begin exploration into leaving the district. A yes vote means the Maine Department of Education would instruct the town selectmen to form a committee to begin exploring costs and logistics involved with leaving.

A residents’ petition was filed with the town, and an initial informational meeting was held last week to discuss the process. A public hearing also has been slated for Monday, during which more information will be presented and residents’ questions answered.

In an ongoing feud between the Mt. Abram Teachers Association and the school board, the board’s proposed $9.4 million budget was pared to $265,000 at the budget ratification meeting, but didn’t pass the referendum in Kingfield, Phillips, Strong and Avon, the district’s four towns.

The $9.4 million budget was again proposed and accepted by voters in the four towns last week at Mt. Abram High School and sent on to a referendum vote Monday evening.

Twitchell, who resigned amid questions about SAD 58’s leadership and is one of the leading advocates of exploring the split from the district, said Monday he’s not advocating for Kingfield to leave the district, but it has to be looked at.

“At the public informational meeting last week, one of the questions I posed for consideration was what impact would our pulling out have on the rest of northern Franklin County, and do we as a town care about that impact? We have to consider all the implications, which includes the other towns and the other kids,” said Twitchell.

Twitchell called the problems facing SAD 58 multifaceted and echoed the words of another at the informational meeting citing teacher contracts, funding and how the board is functioning as pivotal topics in the decision to leave the district.

“My gut feeling says that if Kingfield pulled out K-12, the other towns would have a really hard time supporting Mt. Abram. However, there would be significant changes in funding by the state, and no one knows how that will affect either Kingfield or the other towns,” Twitchell said.

However, Twitchell said that if lack of faith in the board and concern over control are the foundational reasons Kingfield is seeking to leave the district, they should look into fully divesting right through high school.

Twitchell said, “The district gets quite a bit of revenue from the unorganized townships. If they also came to Kingfield, that could be devastating to SAD 58 as well.”

“I believe the town of Kingfield needs to study this and make a decision based on the facts that we discover,” Twitchell said. “I don’t think it is healthy for the town or for the district to keep having this undercurrent of an idea that Kingfield might pull out.

“In my opinion we need to study it closely and make an informed decision about what is best for the town and, in particular, what is best for the kids.”

The July 16 vote is the second step in a 22-step process overseen by the Maine Department of Education, and its purpose is only to establish a requisite withdrawal committee and secure funding for legal and consultative fees associated with the withdrawal process.

With the approval of the Maine Department of Education, the process then can be put to a final vote. The entire timeline for the process is six months to one year.

Douglas McIntire — 861-9252

dmcintire@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @CD_McIntire