Selectman Mike Smith is the mysterious figure who this spring began school consolidation talks. During the July 25 Edgecomb selectmen’s meeting, Smith revealed he was the one who alerted Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Superintendent Bob Kahler to the “Potter property” in Edgecomb being for sale. The Potter property is a large tract located near Edgecomb Potters, on the Boothbay Road, and near the McKay Road intersection. He believed the property was an ideal location for a regional high school. During the selectmen’s meeting, Smith described the property as being 10 miles from Boothbay and eight from Wiscasset.

But Smith’s vision will not become a reality, at least on the Potter property. Smith told selectmen the property recently sold. His original revelation resulted in local education committees beginning to explore possible consolidation. This summer, the AOS 98 board formed a subcommittee to discuss what consolidation would look like. Code Enforcement Officer George Chase often attends selectboard meetings as a municipal officer. He is also an Edgecomb School Committee member. 

Chase believes regionalization discussions should continue with fellow AOS 98 members (Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Southport and Georgetown) along with Wiscasset, Westport Island and Alna.  “It’s a difficult topic to approach,” Chase said. “First, we need to figure out how it would impact Edgecomb with our school choice option for grades 7-12,  followed by how we would fit in the system.”

Smith agreed with Chase’s assessment. He believes a regional high school would benefit all surrounding communities. “My thought was to leave the elementary schools as they are. We have an outstanding elementary school. So why change?  My thinking is a centralized high school would save everybody money,” he said.

In other action, Smith discussed a recent Boothbay Register article about two new teacher hirings. He referred to online comments about the economics of the hiring process. The comments said “Respectfully, both new hires sound like great candidates, however at a time when both the Eddy School and the Town of Edgecomb are under a serious budget crunch, does it make sense to hire two Ph.D level teachers? That is the highest pay scale available. Would it have been wrong to hire a couple newly minted, fresh out of college teachers and save the town $100K?”

Smith asked Chase if the school committee considered a less expensive option than two candidates with doctorates. “Do you think they chose us because of our pay scale which is probably in the top 10 in Maine?” Smith said. Chase believed the school’s reputation was an equally attractive factor for the teaching candidates. “The school has a strong reputation. It’s also small. There is a teacher shortage, and we had a small candidate pool,” he said.

Selectmen are slowly making progress in filling municipal appointments. Smith and fellow Selectman Lynn Norgang contacted the following municipal officers who agreed to serve another year-term: Bob Leone, constable/truant officer; Bill Witzell, emergency management director; Betsy Pratt, animal control officer; George Chase, as code enforcement officer, licensed plumbing inspector and 911 addressing officer.; and Terry Stockwell, harbor master. Selectmen expect to have all municipal positions filled by mid-August.

Selectmen held a pre-meeting workshop to discuss American Rescue Plan Act spending. Edgecomb received $133,000 in federal stimulus funds. So far, selectmen have designated $69,000. Selectmen expect to finalize spending plans for remaining funds next month.

Selectmen meet next at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8 in the municipal conference room.