FARMINGTON – The possibility of adding the small Somerset County town of Starks to the Mt. Blue Regional School District next door is being explored, Superintendent Dr. Michael Cormier said Wednesday.

“The board is open to engaging in a discussion about having Starks join the district,” he said.

On Tuesday, the board agreed to have board chairman Mark Prentiss, vice-chair Claire Andrews and Cormier start meeting informally with a small delegation from Starks.

The most significant benefit to the Mt. Blue district would be the addition of over $700,000 in state education subsidy funds and local tax dollars that Starks’ residents now pay to School Administrative District 59, Starks Selectman Paul Frederic said on Wednesday.

At the same time, only about 70 students — roughly six per grade, according to Frederic —  would need to be incorporated into the Mt. Blue school district, which has about 2,300 students. Starks’ total population is about 600.

The Mt. Blue district includes Chesterville, Farmington, Industry, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Temple, Vienna, Weld and Wilton. Starks abuts the district in New Sharon and Industry and bus routes there actually overlap.

Cormier said consolidation talks are preliminary and many questions will need to be answered before any decision is made to put the issue to a referendum vote in all nine towns.

But at this point, he sees it as a positive opportunity for district taxpayers.

“I think the 70 or so students from Starks can easily be absorbed, and with our declining enrollment, that would be over 70 children who would be added to our state subsidy calculation,” he said.

Last week, Starks residents at a special town meeting, overwhelmingly voted to move forward with seceding from SAD 59, Frederic said. The district also includes Athens, Brighton Plantation and Madison,

The key reasons for residents’ dissatisfaction are students’ low academic performance and cost.

People feel there is a “sense of misplaced priorities” in SAD 59 and are frustrated with the leadership, he said.

“Madison is in the bottom ten of lower-performing high schools,” Frederic said. “People are interested in improving the educational opportunities for our children.”

“Overall, we see the (Mt. Blue) leadership as being much more geared towards academics,” he said.

The SAD 59 budget is also a sore point. According to district and state data, it exceeds the budget formula the state uses to allocate school aid by 18 percent, or $1.65 million, Frederic said.

In contrast, Mt. Blue Regional School District is only 2 percent over the formula’s calculation.

Starks is also approaching SAD 74, which represents Anson, Embden, New Portland, North Anson and Solon as a possible consolidation partner.

Frederic said that last fall, a citizens committee researched neighboring districts’ academic and vocational programs, student performance, budgets, and physical plant before coming up with the two possible district partners.

The group also compared what the financial impact would be on Starks taxpayers if the town switched districts.

“There would not be that much savings to the town if we went with SAD 74. But there would be a dramatic savings in our tax commitment if we joined with (Mt. Blue district),” he said.

Starks could see a projected annual savings of over $75,000 in education costs if the town joined with Mt. Blue.

Following the steps laid out under state laws, Starks officials have now notified SAD 59 and the Maine Department of Education of the results of last week’s vote and submitted a letter explaining why the town wants to withdraw from its current unit. A petition is also being completed.

Frederic said the next step is for SAD 59 and Starks to form committees to negotiate a separation agreement that would ultimately have to be approved by the state.

Under one legal scenario, Starks voters would decide by a two-thirds majority to leave the district and at a later date, vote to join the Mt. Blue district pending approval by voters in that district.

That option is more likely to succeed than one laid out under another state law that requires voters in all SAD 59 towns to approve the transfer to the Mt. Blue district. Frederic said that method has ever been successful in Maine.