BY CRAIG CROSBY

AND BETTY ADAMS

Staff Writers

The road to school consolidation in six adjoining towns diverged Thursday night, with Winthrop staying the course for a standard regional school unit, and five smaller towns agreeing to explore an alternative organizational structure.

Six towns -- Winthrop, Fayette, Manchester, Wayne, Mount Vernon and Readfield -- previously decided to work together toward consolidating into a regional school unit directed by a single board.

But that work was halted July 10 after the planning committee voted 9-8 to go with an alternative organizational structure -- an option offered by legislation passed in April.

Committee members from smaller towns voiced concerns that a regional school board could initiate closure of a local elementary school over a town's objections. They sought an alternative structure as a way to exert more local control over their smaller elementary schools.

The Winthrop School Committee briefly discussed its options Thursday night, but ultimately voted 4-1 to continue pursuing a regional school unit without considering the alternative operating structure.

Joe Pietroski voted to approve the plan submitted by the other communities.

Kevin Cookson, a Winthrop town councilor who serves on the regional planning committee, called the smaller towns' plan to defer a decision -- which was not submitted to Winthrop school board members until 3 p.m. Thursday -- an 11th-hour addition.

Cookson predicted after Thursday's vote that the other communities would either fail in their attempt to craft an alternative structure, or that Winthrop would be left out.

Dale Glidden, another Winthrop representative on the regional planning committee, characterized Thursday's vote as reaffirming Winthrop's desire to join the other communities in a regional school unit.

He said Winthrop would continue work to alleviate concerns in the other communities.

"I believe in consolidation," Glidden said. "I think it's the right thing to do."

Winthrop has its own concerns associated with giving up its independent school system, said regional planning committee Rae Giampetro, of Winthrop.

Meanwhile, school boards in Manchester, Wayne, Mount Vernon and Readfield -- which are already joined in the Maranacook Community School District -- along with that of the neighboring town of Fayette, voted Thursday to allow a subcommittee to work on an alternative organizational model while also working on a regional school unit.

Holly Stevenson, of Wayne, chairman of the Maranacook Area School Union board, told board members that the state did not require them to vote Thursday on a new letter of intent to form an alternative organizational structure.

Susan Herman, a Mount Vernon selectman and regional planning committee member, outlined the differences among a regional school unit, a "stretched" regional school unit and an alternative organizational structure.

She said an alternative organizational structure offered local control over budgets and school closure.

"We're not asking you tonight to vote on the alternative organizational structure," said Malcolm Hardy, a member of the Mount Vernon School Committee. "We're asking you for time to study it."

The votes by each town's School Committee were unanimous.

Fayette school board members voted to develop an initial plan for an alternative structure, but added an Oct. 2 deadline.

"I'm very upset that (the July 10) vote has postponed any work by this group for six weeks," said Richard Darling of the Fayette School Committee.

Betty Adams -- 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Craig Crosby--623-3811 Ext. 433

ccrosby@centralmaine.com