Wiscasset's school committee is taking a first step toward exploring the idea of the town joining a partnership called an “alternative organizational structure” or AOS, possibly AOS 98, which serves the Boothbay peninsula.

Committee members agreed February 20 to have interim superintendent Wayne Dorr seek a meeting between their panel and  AOS 98’s board.

“There's some merit to the discussion, for sure,” Dorr told committee members.

He said he had talked with AOS 98 Superintendent Eileen King a couple of times in recent days. “She and I are more than willing to bring the boards together for that discussion .... Entirely up to you, but it's one more thing I'd like us to move on one way or the other,” Dorr said.

Committee Chairman Glen Craig agreed it's a discussion worth having. “It's all about the kids ... and if it helps the children and saves money at the same time, why would it not be a viable option to discuss?”

“It seems to me this is a no-brainer,” member Eugene Stover said. Towns in an AOS share a central office and superintendent, but otherwise keep their school systems separate, he said.

“The town would run its own schools, hire its own teachers, make its own contracts, as we have done in the past,” Stover said. “If we can find an AOS that would take us, it would eliminate a great deal of administrative costs (and) enhance our ability to bring our taxes down.”

Speaking with reporters afterward, Dorr was unsure how much money Wiscasset might save by joining AOS 98. The AOS might need to hire more staff in order to serve Wiscasset, he said.

AOS 98 serves Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb, Southport and Georgetown, for a total of about 900 students, King said February 21.

Wiscasset's approximately 600 students would raise AOS 98's count by about two-thirds, Dorr said.