As we wrap up the first month of school, we, the AOS 98 Board, wanted to introduce ourselves, share a little background about the structure of public education in the region, and highlight some upcoming opportunities for public input.

Edgecomb, Georgetown and Southport are municipal school units, and Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor are combined into a CSD, or a Community School District. These five towns and four districts are combined into AOS 98, and the school committee members of each district serve together as the AOS 98 Rocky Channels School Board.

Each town in Maine is legally responsible for providing an education for all resident students. Many towns organize municipal school units, in which the town runs just a single school district. Many other towns have combined into larger districts, including CSDs, RSUs, and other options. https://www.maine.gov/doe/schools/structure

An AOS, or Alternative Organizational Structure, is a type of public school administrative unit in Maine that allows each member unit to keep their own local school board, adopt their own policies, manage their own facilities, and draft their own budget. Our town boards also meet and work together as an AOS while sharing Central Office resources, including our Superintendent, Finance, Special Education, Human Resources, Payroll, Technology and Support Administrators. Each town pays for a percentage of the Central Office cost, including these salaries and benefits, based upon their school population numbers.

Last year, our AOS 98 Board focused on improving AOS policies and evaluation processes. Out of that work came what we referred to as “summer homework.” We tasked ourselves with taking a deep look at a fundamental question: Is an AOS the most effective and efficient structure possible?

We are exploring the organizational options that exist—and investigating whether any of those options could help us provide an even more positive educational experience in each of our communities, in the most cost-effective and educationally beneficial manner.

Much of the background information that will help each town decide what is best for their future will be presented by members of the AOS Board at the AOS meeting Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. at Edgecomb Eddy School. We encourage members of the public to attend in person or seek out the Zoom link on the AOS98 website. Actually, that’s your homework - go explore the website! https://www.aos98schools.org/ Everything from meeting agendas and minutes to board policies to recorded meetings can be found right here.

We recognize that school boards are somewhat unusual public institutions. While we are elected by the towns we serve, we are not a representative body in the same way as a legislature. As stated in a school law advisory more than 20 years ago, “school boards were not primarily established to respond to what members of the community ask it to do. While an important aspect of locally elected school board members is guiding their school system in ways that reflect broad community values, they are not required to follow the desires of special interests in their community” (Maine school boards are unique: Understanding that uniqueness is important, Donald Kopp, School Law Advisory, 2006).

This is one of those times when each board needs to hear from members of the community. So please, follow along as the towns of AOS98 make decisions about the type of school that best reflects all the broad community values that make this place so special. We are proud to be a part of our schools, our students and staff. We are continually impressed and inspired by our supportive and engaged communities. Let’s keep supporting schools that make us all proud as they educate and develop our future generations of young people.

On behalf of the AOS Communications Committee, Abby Jones, Boothbay, ajones@aos98schools.org; Heather M. Sinclair, Edgecomb hsinclair@aos98schools.org