DIXFIELD — The Board of Selectmen voted Monday evening to confirm the appointment of three people to the Regional School Unit 10 Withdrawal Committee.
Residents voted 542-201 on June 9 to appropriate $50,000 for the withdrawal effort.
Previously, the former School Administrative District 21 towns of Dixfield, Canton, Peru and Carthage circulated petitions asking for a vote to form a four-member committee to work on withdrawal negotiations and to appropriate money to fund the cost of negotiations, research and analysis of withdrawal agreements.
The goal of each town was to withdraw from RSU 10 and form a new district.
On June 9, Peru and Canton voters approved using $10,000 from surplus accounts to begin the withdrawal process.
On June 23, Carthage residents voted 85-15 to spend $8,000 from surplus to join Dixfield, Canton and Peru in withdrawing from RSU 10.
The board voted 4-0 to confirm the appointment of Selectman Dana Whittemore as the municipal officer on the Withdrawal Committee, and voted 5-0 to confirm the appointment of Barry Prescott as the member of the petitioning group on the Withdrawal Committee.
Scott Belskis, who previously served on the Board of Selectmen, was appointed by a 3-2 vote as a member of the general public on the Withdrawal Committee.
Selectmen Mac Gill and Eugene Skitbitsky both voted against Belskis being appointed as a member of the Withdrawal Committee, adding that resident Beverly Glover, who worked part time at Dirigo High School for several years and full time as a receptionist, would be a better choice.
“I think that Bev is a team player, a hard worker and has 40 years of being involved with the school,” Gill said. “I think she’ll be a responsible member of the Withdrawal Committee, and won’t be freelancing for herself.”
Gill added that “not one voter came up to me and said they wanted to see (Belskis) on the Withdrawal Committee.”
“I don’t think he’d represent our town very well,” Gill said.
Whittemore said that he was letting his personal feelings get in the way of the decision.
“No, I’m not,” Gill shot back. “I think that Bev would be the best selection for the committee. We need someone who unites all of the town and not just a small portion of it. I mean, she was our Citizen of the Year. She’s the perfect choice.”
Whittemore said that the original committee that circulated the petition specifically asked for Belskis to serve on the Withdrawal Committee, since “he has been able to provide numbers and statistics that even the superintendent didn’t have. He’s knowledgeable about this situation and would be a great fit.”
Skitbitsky said that “his objective wasn’t to say anything negative about anyone,” and that he just felt that Glover was the best person available to represent the town.
Selectman Norman Mitchell said, “Everything you guys have said about Bev is correct. Bev is awesome. However, the committee said they wanted Scott, so that’s who I’m voting for.”
Prescott said that even though Belskis is the official member from the general public on the Withdrawal Committee, anyone in the public is welcome to attend the meetings and provide their advice.
“They won’t have a vote when it comes time to make a decision, but their advice and recommendations will be completely valid and welcome at the meetings,” Prescott said.
Other towns in RSU 10 are Buckfield, Hartford, Sumner, Mexico, Rumford, Byron, Roxbury and Hanover. Byron is well into the process of withdrawing from RSU 10.
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