EUSTIS — All students should be entitled to a good education, but paying for it has been a struggle for the SAD 58 communities of Kingfield, Phillips, Strong, Avon and Eustis.

After observing the past years of challenging budget negotiations, a task force of community members from several towns began an independent study of the district’s demographics, transportation, finances and other critical factors.

Eustis resident Alan Burnell, Avon Selectman Greta Espeaignette, Strong resident Scott Luce, Phillips Selectman Lynn White and Kingfield resident Kim Robinson have met regularly to assess the district’s challenges. On Thursday night, Burnell, the committee’s chairman, spoke to the school board at Stratton Elementary School to review their findings.

“We spent a whole meeting talking about transportation,” Burnell said. “If you’re going to live in a rural district, you’re going to travel a lot of miles, and we can’t do much about fuel costs.”

Discussion included bus routes and alternatives, bus conditions and possible methods to improve efficiencies.

“A big part of this is the time the kids spend on the bus,” he said.

Possibilities include sharing transportation with Rangeley students who go to Farmington. The group reviewed projected demographics and enrollments for each area to assess the needs of each school over the next several years.

“This is going to change over the next several years, and it’s something the board needs to look at continually,” he said.

The committee specifically reviewed a projected increase in the district’s student population, but much depends on the economy.

“Currently, there’s a (student population) bubble working through the system that peaks in 2016 and 2017 at the high school and then falls back to current levels about 2019,” Burnell said.

The task force also reviewed the district’s public relations policies, suggesting a stipend to pay for a public relations person dedicated to getting the good news to the public.

“How do we let people know there are great things going on in this district?” Burnell asked. “How do we get better and more information to the general public?”

The school’s website, individual school initiatives and local news releases could help. Innovations could include opening the schools for other activities.

“Get the senior citizens in here,” he said. “Have breakfasts and do things that won’t cost a lot of money.”

The committee suggested establishing a prekindergarten class in each school, which would offer an incentive to families thinking of moving into the area.

Burnell ended with a review of the proposal to take Eustis students out of the district.

“We want to control our own school and our own destiny,” he said. “It simply comes down to local control.”

If Eustis leaves the district, other towns could benefit from reduced transportation costs and a more compact consolidation of services, he said. Eustis will hold a public hearing about the withdrawal process at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, at the Community Center.