SAD 44 directors Monday made an adjustment to the meeting agenda in order to discuss proposed legislation that, if passed, would eliminate exemptions to the statewide school funding formula in SAD 44 and SAD 6 (See above story.).

Murphy distributed figures prepared by the district’s attorney, Richard Spencer of Drummond Woodsum, that showed nearly $2.4 million in costs being shifted from Newry to the district’s three other towns if the legislation passed.

Additional school costs would amount to more than $1.6 million for Bethel taxpayers, $697,612 for Woodstock, and $59,168 for Greenwood.

The bill, LD 1082, was scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday (yesterday) before the Legislative Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs.

After discussion, board members voted unanimously to send a resolution to the committee opposing the inclusion of SAD 44 in the bill.

“I was able to have conversations with Rep. Head and her aide this afternoon,” Murphy said.

He said Head told him she intended to formally ask at the beginning of the legislative hearing for an amendment to eliminate SAD 44 from LD 1082, “because of the financial impact, which would be tremendously detrimental to our area.”

Woodstock Director Marcel Polak, who chairs the board’s Newry Withdrawal Committee, said he supported the resolution and would go to Augusta to testify, along with Murphy.

“There’s been a lot of information about where the burden will fall,” Polak said. “It would shift the burden from second-homeowners to primary taxpayers, and it will likely have a seriously damaging effect. I would ask the board to let the current withdrawal process run its course. That’s what we’re working on right now, and this is just going to really muddy the water and pose some challenges, so I would ask you to support this resolution.”

Murphy told the School Board that despite Head’s intended recommendation, he did not think any action to remove SAD 44 from the bill would take place at the time of the hearing.

He sought confirmation of the legislative process from Bethel director Tim Carter, a former state representative. Carter said the next step after the hearing would likely be a work session on the bill in the Education and .

“They would have to get a majority vote of the people on the committee to let SAD 44 withdraw [from the bill],” he said. “[Rep. Head] can’t do it automatically, I don’t think, at this point.”