South Berwick- Marshwood High School is one of many public schools in Maine struggling to maintain their academic and extracurricular programs currently offered. As the local school district is commonly referred to as the community’s greatest asset, the MSAD #35 School Board has finally reached a solution to the high school’s financial woes.
After much research and contemplation, the board passed a policy allowing 10 nonlocal residents to attend the college-predatory high school by paying tuition. This tuition fee will result in an $84,000 profit for the school, allowing them to carry on with regular salaries and programs.
While most are optimistic, some have great concerns for this switch from a more traditional public high school.
“My concerns are the fact that as Maine residents, we have chosen to live in the towns of South Berwick and Eliot, largely based on the choice of sending our children to MSAD 35 schools. In doing so, we made a commitment to paying the property taxes due to our town of South Berwick or Eliot, as well as to paying the quite substantial Maine state taxes,” explains Helen Cass of the MSAD #35 school board, “Most of us could have lived in NH and paid much less money in taxes, but we all chose to live in Maine in order to send our children to our particular school system.” Cass was the only member who voted against this policy, and remains firm in her opinion of fairness in taxation.
Paul Mehlhorn, the school’s principal, is more sympathetic towards the policy. “The whole purpose is to raise revenues and reduce or maintain the tax burden and still provide the wide range of opportunities for students.”
In a school-wide survey, the students proved to be largely in favor of the new policy. Brynne DuBois, an incoming freshman, is excited for Marshwood’s adoption of out-of-town students. “I think having 10 non-resident students would benefit the resident students of MHS because these non-resident students could introduce us to their friends from their district. By doing this, students of Marshwood would not just have friends from their school district, but from others too.”
For the most part, students see no detriment in adding non-resident students to their classrooms; in fact, many see them as an asset to the school. After-all, without the revenue from tuitioned students, programs would be cut. “I think it is more important to be offered more classes and programs. By being offered more, we can choose more careers that we would want to have in the future,” says DuBois.
While this revenue is clearly important, Cass argues that it wouldn’t have enough impact on the $26 million budget, and other avenues of revenue should be explored: “Ideas might include use of the fitness center as a community fitness center, or promoting the MHS auditorium as a possible revenue source.”
Another revenue-raising possibility that has gained a lot of attention in the community is Traip Academy joining Marshwood at a tuition fee. Mehlhorn says, however, that the new policy and these rumors are unrelated and this possibility is unlikely. Traip is a nearby high school facing more extreme financial hurdles, and is looking for a way to provide quality education to its dwindling student body. Mehlhorn explains: “The [MSAD #35 school] board had been in communication with Kittery, but would need a policy before any tuitioning could occur. Kittery has now withdrawn from discussing tuitioning students to Marshwood.”
With general support from the community, Marshwood will admit 10 non-resident students to their high school. Perhaps Cass is right in that other avenues of revenue should be explored to meet the lofty budget, but it is without question that these options would be best paired with the promising tuition policy. For Marshwood, the fog has cleared and future now looks bright.
