Buckfield withdrawal committee leans on state ED 279 form, requests DOE extension and seeks legal counsel

The Town of Buckfield BHS RSU withdrawal committee spent the bulk of its Jan. 8 meeting mapping a path to a withdrawal budget, agreeing to seek an extension from the Department of Education and to press forward with legal counsel outreach.

Committee members said the immediate priorities are (1) obtain an updated ED 279 state worksheet, which one member described as the "spine" or starting point for a new budget; (2) have the RSU produce an Excel export that isolates district-wide and three-town costs; and (3) secure attorney support to handle outstanding legal questions and the RFP review. "Listen, I like how you described using the ED 279 as the skeleton and building from that," one committee member said during the meeting.

On the procedural front, the committee agreed to request an extension from the Department of Education. "The contact person is Charlotte Dallas," a member reported, and Charlotte Dallas said the chair of each town withdrawal committee must email her to request an extension. Committee members agreed to have each chair send that email so the group could likely gain more time to finalize budget work.

Members underscored the complexity of the withdrawal timeline: one participant said the group remained at "step 8" of the state withdrawal process and that step contains multiple parts. A recurring theme was the need for clearer, exportable financial data. Committee members said Leah (the district staff contact) had been asked to produce an Excel version of the adopted RSU budget so the withdrawal committee could separate district-wide costs from expenses tied specifically to the three towns.

Special-education costs and staffing were central to the budget discussion. The group cited roughly 10 out-of-district special-education placements that drive material costs and noted uncertainty about which payers—state reimbursements, Medicaid/MaineCare or other grants—cover those services. On staffing, members focused on cost-center 7 (school administration) and explored options to share central-office roles (for example, combining superintendent-level or curriculum duties) to reduce costs.

Committee members also reviewed responses to a request for proposals for legal counsel. One attorney declined, another responded promptly, and members planned to follow up with a candidate named Dan Stauffer. The committee agreed to postpone final RFP selection until the next scheduled meeting, when submitted written questions and proposals are expected to be available for review.

The committee scheduled its next formal meeting for Jan. 22 at 6:30 a.m. in Hartford to continue budget workshops, review RFP responses, and confirm any extension received from the Department of Education.

What’s next: committee chairs will each email Charlotte Dallas to request an extension; Leah will be asked to provide an Excel export of the RSU budget; and the group will review attorney RFPs and updated ED 279 figures at the Jan. 22 meeting.