STRONG — Selectman on Tuesday reviewed challenges they face as members of the RSU 58 school district.

The Tuesday night meeting began with a review of Maine Department of Education’s mandated reapportionment of the district’s board members’ votes. Although resident Susan Pratt, also Superintendent of the Rangeley Lakes Regional School, could not attend the meeting, she sent a letter to summarize her suggestions. To apportion each town’s percentage of votes based on their respective populations, the current seven-member board could add as many as eight more members. The most accurate design would be 15-member board, Pratt wrote.

“It is nearly perfect in variance of voting power for each member of that board,” she said.

Selectman Mike Pond, a former member of the School Board, noted that Kingfield has formed a committee to review the possibility of withdrawing from RSU 58 and forming a stand-alone district. If Strong has the greatest weight of voting decisions, he said, and the School Board decided to save money by closing a school, Kingfield’s 70-student elementary school would be the logical choice.

“Kingfield is frightened by Strong right now; very frightened by them,” Pond said, adding that the possible closing is only part of the reason Kingfield might decide to withdraw.

Pond predicted that a year from now, Kingfield voters would decide to follow Eustis’ example, keeping its elementary school and paying tuition for students to attend the high school of their choice. Avon, Strong and Phillips would be left to support the district.

“If you appoint a 15-member panel now and (Kingfield) leaves, we’ve got to do it all over again,” Pond said.

Strong has two directors in the current apportionment. Ann Schwink’s term expires in 2015 and Marc Edwards’ term expires in 2014. If Stephen Bowen, Commissioner for the Maine Department of Education, approves the Reapportionment Committee’s plan, Strong selectmen will appoint up to three interim representatives to fill the new positions until the town holds an election in March 2014. At that time, those interim representatives and any other citizens can run as candidates for the four three-year terms that will start on July 1, 2014, the start of RSU 58’s fiscal year. Pond said he knows of potential “go-getter” candidates who are willing to serve if the board configuration is approved.

“Right now, I know five people who are interested,” Pond said.Citizens are tired of the perceived unwillingness of current board members to take action on difficult decisions, he noted, so a larger board would share more of the tasks and provide more input.

“People want to see something change and they’re going to push it,” he said.

The Reapportionment Committee will meet again on July 29 to decide the final board configuration so each town should be prepared to find additional directors. Strong would have five members; Phillips and Kingfield would have four members; and Avon would have two members.