Futures Task Force
FAQ

August 8, 2023

The Task Force is dedicated to their work, but they also acknowledge the emotional aspect that comes with consolidation and reconfiguration. They are committed to maintaining openness and engaging in transparent, honest, and healthy conversations. This approach is driven by their understanding of the impact these decisions have on the students and communities they serve.

Submitting a new school to state for all three elementary schools? This is something that has been considered. However, state funding will not reopen until 2024, where at that point any schools in need across the state will be asked to submit an application. After a rigorous and highly competitive decision, a district will be picked for allocation of funds. Should RSU 16 be chosen, it will be a very intense and detailed process that will take anywhere from 8-10 years until completion occurs. This includes the application phase, planning phase, execution phase, and construction phase under the hopes that all things go according to plans. This option also entails the need for RSU16 to apply with the intention of combining all three elementary schools into one, as being selected for the grant has significantly low odds when applying for only one school in a district to be built while also owning other aging buildings. Please note, RSU 16 did apply for such a grant back in 2017 for MCS only.  The replacement of Minot Consolidated School was rated as 37 out of 71 during that cycle.  Only 7 projects were funded during that cycle (3 for school construction in 2019, 2 in 2020 and 2 in 2022.) Edward Little High School was on the 2010-2011 Priority Funding list and the school is just being completed. 

What does the $81 Million estimate for a new build include?  The list for grant approval is extremely long and unfortunately there is no guarantee of allocation even if our district does get approved to be on it. However, that being said, estimates at this time are approximated as follows: 900 students x 150 sq.ft. per student x $600 per square foot project cost = $81,000,000. This cost represents a basic build only. Anything above and beyond that will be considered extra and will be required to be financed with local money only. 

 How much money would it cost if we keep all three buildings, staffed and fully funded?

These figures are to fix the schools, it does not include yearly budgeted operating costs.

Elm Street School: $3,353,250 (DOES NOT include heating)

Minot Consolidated School: $1,826,700 (DOES NOT include heating)

Poland Community School: $3,152,250 (DOES NOT include heating)

Whittier Middle School/Poland Regional High School: $1,901,250

Central Office: $246,750

TOTAL: $10,480,200  (DOES NOT include heating)

With previously proposed heating cost figure ($5,000,000): New TOTAL: $15,480,200

Staff them

Continue to pay negotiated salaries and benefits (approximately $1,000,000 increase each year)

Support schools to grow programs to meet student needs and curriculum needs: $400,000 each year (three new staff a year, plus programming/curriculum costs) Additional $1,400,000 each year (this does not include yearly increases in operating costs)

How many staff would we lose if we consolidate? Consolidate means combining ESS and MCS into one school and keeping PCS as is (Scenario 2).

The first phase of the consolidation process for Scenario 2 involves merging ESS and MCS into a single school while maintaining PCS as it currently exists. This will eliminate any redundant positions, which are the ones that were duplicated in all three elementary schools for the sake of equality. Redundant positions include: LPN nurse, Librarian Ed Tech, Restorative Room Ed Tech, Dean of Students, Principal, .5 Attendance Clerk/Admin Assistant. The savings would be $340,568.

With the merger of ESS and MCS, there are overlaps in other positions in which reductions (such as teaching positions) can occur. These are being examined. An example is reducing three teaching positions. Cost savings $240,000. MCS facilities cost may also decrease by approximately $300,000. These are being examined.

How many teacher reductions would we have if we keep two schools or all three schools and reconfigure (Scenario 3 or 4)?

Optimum Class Sizes 

Kindergarten: 16 (range: 14 to 18)

Grade 1-3: 18 (range: 16 to 20)

Grades 4-6: 22 (range: 18 to 25)

July 26, 2023

At our Staff and Community Collaborative, attendees were given an Exit Ticket to share any additional questions they had and request further information. They were also asked to narrow down the scenarios from 4 to 3 and provide a reason for their reduction choice.

Here are the results of the returned Exit Tickets. (Votes are just informational and are non-binding):

Scenario 1: Keep 3 hometown elementary schools - fund them, staff them and fix them (Votes to eliminate: 6)
Scenario 2: Reduce the number of PreK-6 elementary schools to 2: Combine ESS and MCS, keep PCS as is (fund them, staff them and fix them) (Votes to eliminate: 3)
Scenario 3: Reduce the number of PreK-6 elementary schools (fund them, staff them and fix them) to 2 AND reconfigure (example: PreK-2 school and 3-5 school), 6th grade to WMS (Votes to eliminate: 2)
Scenario 4: Keep 3 elementary schools - (fund them, staff them and fix them) AND reconfigure (example: PreK-1 school, 2-3 school and 4-5/6 school) (Votes to eliminate: 11)

Here are the answers to some of the questions posed by attendees.  The Task Force continues to work on all submitted questions.  

How much would it cost to repair each building?
At the time of this publication, John Hawley was meeting with EMC to better understand their estimates to fix the heating issues at all three elementary schools. The below costs DO NOT include heating (note: the May failed referendum was 5 million dollars for all three elementary schools).
Elm Street School: $3,353,250 (DOES NOT include heating)
Minot Consolidated School: $1,826,700 (DOES NOT include heating)
Poland Community School: $3,152,250 (DOES NOT include heating)
Whittier Middle School/Poland Regional High School: $1,901,250
Central Office: $246,750

Submitting a new school to state for all three elementary schools?
This is something that has been considered. However, state funding will not reopen until 2024 or 2025, where at that point any schools in need across the state will be asked to submit an application. After a rigorous and highly competitive decision, a district will be picked for allocation of funds. Should RSU 16 be chosen, it will be a very intense and detailed process that will take anywhere from 8-10 years until completion occurs. This includes the application phase, planning phase, execution phase, and construction phase under the hopes that all things go according to plans. This option also entails the need for RSU16 to apply with the intention of combining all three elementary schools into one, as being selected for the grant has significantly low odds when applying for only one school in a district to be built while also owning other aging buildings. Please note, RSU 16 did apply for such a grant back in 2017 for MCS only, we were placed 35th on the list of needs. 

What does the $81 Million estimate for a new build include? 
900 students x 150 sq.ft. per student x $600 per square foot project cost = $81,000,000

The numbers for Grade 2 at MCS are higher than PCS and ESS. Can we add another teacher to MCS next budget cycle?
No we cannot without adding 2 teachers to PCS and 1 teacher to ESS. If we add to MCS only we will be out of comparability.  Moving forward, if we want to add a teacher to MCS, we must add two teachers to PCS and one teacher to ESS at the same time.  This will cost approximately $320,000.

Scenario #2: How do we add square footage? Portables? Additions? How does this impact security/safety?
The options for adding square footage would be with new construction or adding modular structures. MCS does not have enough space to accommodate taking on more children. Maine State schools are recommended to provide approx. 140-160 sq. ft per pupil. At this time, MCS currently has approx. 151 sq. ft. per child with ESS having approx. 233 sq. ft. Expansion is possible but would require the town of Minot to offer up additional abutting property as most abutting property for MCS is owned by the Town and would require almost doubling the current building space to accommodate the absorption of ESS. ESS also faces the same issues only at a more restrictive level. There is significantly less property surrounding the school building itself which limits any expansion or additions being built. Code prevents any vertical construction, vertical additions to any of our buildings would require engineering studies, and land below the playground area is deemed to be flood zone and protected by MDEP Shoreland Zoning requirements and will prove to be a greater burden than asset should an attempt be made to utilize that area. If portables are added, safety would be an issue and need to be addressed with possible structural changes or renovations being made as students would then be required to physically exit the premises to enter the detached learning space unless the modular additions are designed to include secure hallway connectors to the main buildings.

What is three phase power and why do we need it?
Most electrical appliances used in homes and businesses run with alternating current (AC), which means the voltage supplied is pulsating, unlike the constant output of a battery (direct current, DC). In the USA, the voltage supplied by utility companies has a frequency of 60 Hertz, which means it cycles between positive and negative polarity 60 times per second.

Most AC power supplies can be classified into single-phase or three-phase, depending on the characteristics of the voltage supplied. As implied by its name, a three-phase system has three separate AC voltages, each with a frequency of 60 Hz. However, these voltages alternate between positive and negative in a sequence, not simultaneously, providing a constant power supply that is not possible with a single-phase system. 

Single-phase power is normally used in residential applications, where loads are too small to justify the complexity of a three-phase system. However, the single-phase supplies for individual dwellings are normally derived from a larger-three phase system.

Cite: https://www.ny-engineers.com/blog/why-do-we-use-three-phase-power

 How much would it cost to get three phase power to MCS?
According to the reports published and supplied to RSU 16 previously by EMC, the cost from CMP to have three phase power brought in and installed at MCS would be substantial. This price is affected by the need to connect to the closest three phase power supply which is a little over two miles away (10,000 ft.) At a cost of $50/foot it would total approximately $500,000.
 

What is Title I?

Purpose of Title I: Title I provides supplemental federal funds to ensure all students have fair, equal, and significant opportunities to obtain a high-quality education and reach minimum proficiency on state academic achievement standards and assessments, with a focus on improving academic achievement of low-achieving students in schools with high concentrations of children from low-income families.

Our Title I program is funded by federal funds.  Each year an application and performance report is submitted.  The application describes how we will use allotted Title I funds for identified students and teachers and sets goals for student achievement and parent engagement.  The performance report reports how each school did meeting goals set for Title I student achievement and Title I family engagement.

Poland Community School is a Targeted Program. 
With targeted we:

• Identify the most “at-risk” students for services; 
• Determine eligibility to receive Title I services
• Resources are used for only “eligible” students
• Program based on needs of “identified, eligible” students
• Parents are notified of students’ Title I eligibility and intervention plan
• “On-going” monitoring must be in place for identified students
• Title I teachers and paraprofessionals must meet state certification requirements
• Professional Development is focused on staff who provide direct support to Title I identified students and is aligned to these students’ needs
• Provide supplemental instruction to identified students
• Prioritize access to regular core instruction and “minimize the removal of children from the regular classroom during regular school hours for instruction [ESSA Sec 11159(b)(2)(G)(ii)]”

Elm Street School is a Schoolwide Program. 
With schoolwide:

• All students can receive additional services
• No student identification for eligibility
• Resources used to improve instruction for all students promote school reform
• The ESS CNA outline how both school and Title I resources will be used
• No parent identification of additional services
• “On-going” review of the CNA
• All teachers and support staff must meet state certification requirements
• Professional Development for all staff to support all students
• Has a poverty rate of 40% or greater
• Prioritize access to regular core instruction and “minimize the removal of children from the regular classroom during regular school hours for instruction [ESSA Sec 11159(b)(2)(G)(ii)]”

What is Comparability?
Under Title I comparability, local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive Title I funds must ensure comparability of local/state resources between the Title I schools and the non-Title I schools by analyzing the teacher-to-student ratios and/or the per pupil cost.

MCS (a non-Title school), PCS (Title school), and ESS (Title school) are all the same grade spans (PreK-6) so the full-time local funded salaries and staff/student ratio are analyzed by the State. 

Here is the information from March, when RSU 16 was notified we needed to take immediate corrective action or forfeit our Title funds. 

As you can see, MCS is lower in Staff/Student Ratio and higher in Per Pupil Cost when compared to ESS and PCS.  
The analysis does allow for a 10% buffer, so MCS Staff/Student Ratio with a 10% buffer is 11.97.  Since ESS (11.40) is below 11.97 it meets comparability.  However, PCS is still not comparable because 12.60 is above 11.97.

Since ESS has met comparability, we can stop comparing them to MCS, but PCS does not, so we compared Per Pupil Cost between MCS and PCS.  The Per Pupil Cost difference in local RSU 16 budget spending per pupil is $883.16.  This means as an RSU, we were locally spending $883.16 more on each student who went to MCS or $883.16 less on a child who attended PCS.  With the 10% buffer in per pupil cost, MCS per pupil would be $4,549.76. PCS Per Pupil Cost is not higher than this, so they are still not comparable.

After our March meeting with the State to consider our options, we had to take immediate corrective action by moving one full-time position from Minot Consolidated School to Poland Community School to meet the comparability standards. 

Scenario #4: Can we predict or anticipate Title I status for grade spans? I.E. Would our K-2 population likely qualify for Title I? 
School Title I qualification is based on four options: 1) free lunch counts,  2) free and reduced lunch counts, 3) Direct certification, or 4) Direct certification with a multiplier of the students in that building.  RSU 16 analyzes all four of the options with both fall and spring data.  We use option #2 (free and reduced lunch counts) because that ensures qualification for ESS and PCS. (Note: MCS does not qualify with any of these options - if they did and ESS/PCS still qualified, RSU 16 would be using that option).
 

If we consolidate ESS and MCS, and leave PCS as is, would all schools qualify for Title I?
Remember Title I funding qualifications use the information from the free and reduced lunch forms from the previous year.  If we were to consolidate ESS and MCS this year and leave PCS as is, then yes all schools would qualify (but remember our recommendation is not for this upcoming school year).  HOWEVER, that could change next year because the school has to have low-income levels of 35% or 40% using data from those forms. 

What happens to kids that need Title I funds but the school does not qualify for it?
Title I is supplemental instruction. This means “in addition to” the core grade level curriculum. Even in schools that qualify for Title I funds, we do not receive enough funds to provide every qualified student with supplemental instruction. As a district we have prioritized early intervention, as research shows it is imperative to have students on grade level by grade 3.  In RSU 16, when MCS did not qualify for Title funds, the local budget added an interventionist at MCS.  This is where we got into trouble with comparability, because we gave additional local funding to one non-Title school and not the other two Title schools.  

Is there a scenario where all elementary children receive Title I benefits?
Yes, there are two ways IF the free and reduced lunch forms of the previous year meet low-income levels. 1) If ESS and MCS combined then they would qualify to be a targeted Title I school. This means ESS would lose its schoolwide designation. 2) If we have two schools with different grade spans like a K-2 and 3-6. However, we prioritize early intervention, so depending upon the amount of available funds, we may choose to only service the K-2 school.

How much money does the Title I program get and use?
For the 2023-2024 school year: Title I: $414,692 (+$91,151.26 in Title II transfer to Title I) = $505,843.26 Our Title I (and Title II) funds pay for the salaries, benefits, and supplies of our Title I Literacy and Math teachers and provide professional development for our Title staff.  Funds are also used for PreK-6 Parent Engagement activities with a focus on math and literacy.  Title I funds are also used to support homeless students and pay a stipend for our required Homeless/McKinney Vento liaison (Jenny Rose). 

Do we have to accept Title I funds?
No, we do not. The cost of the program is approximately $500,000 which is primarily salaries and benefits.  This means this cost would need to come into the local budget so we could continue to provide interventions.  

The numbers per class for Grade 2 at MCS are higher than PCS and ESS. Can we add another teacher to just MCS next budget cycle for when these kids go to Grade 3? (MCS 23 students in one class, PCS and ESS 14 students per class.)
No we cannot without adding 2 teachers to PCS and 1 teacher to ESS. If we add to MCS only we will be out of comparability.  Moving forward, if we want to add a teacher to MCS, we must add two teachers to PCS and one teacher to ESS at the same time.  This will cost approximately $320,000 for salaries and benefits. 

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