Residents from Andover and Newry will vote Wednesday, Sept. 24, on issues related to withdrawing from SAD 44.

Andover voters will decide whether they wish to withdraw from SAD 44, while Newry voters will decide whether they wish to allow the town’s Withdrawal Committee to appropriate $50,000 from the town’s surplus account to investigate withdrawal options.

Andover voters also will vote on whether or not to expand their School Committee from three members to five.

Paula Lee, chairwoman of the Andover Withdrawal Committee, said that the School Board will only be expanded in the event that the first question is approved.

The withdrawal process for Andover began in 2011, after the SAD 44 board voted to close Andover Elementary School, citing the extra expense to maintain the nearly 100-year-old building and declining student enrollment. There are about 35 students from kindergarten to grade five who attend the school.

Andover residents raised $214,000 to keep the school open in 2011-12, and voted in 2012 to raise an additional $68,000 to keep the school open for the 2012-13 school year.

They later petitioned to form a Withdrawal Committee and begin the process of withdrawing from SAD 44.

In January, residents went to the polls to vote on a withdrawal agreement, but the effort fell eight votes short of the two-thirds majority required for passage.

There are few differences in the withdrawal agreement going before voters on Sept. 24 and the one they voted on in January, part-time resident and pro bono legal adviser Steve Hudspeth said.

“One of the major changes is the amount of money we have to pay SAD 44 to get out of our obligations,” Hudspeth said. “We reduced the number from $137,000 to $122,000. Other than that, it’s just minor cosmetic changes.”

Newry’s withdrawal process began after resident Jim Sysko circulated a petition, citing the large amount of money that Newry currently pays to SAD 44 and the quality of education that their students receive.

The town of Newry is still in the early stages of possible withdrawal from SAD 44. At a recent public hearing, Selectman Brooks Morton said that out of 22 steps they were on “step three.”

Sysko said Newry residents are currently paying somewhere between $2.8 million and $2.9 million to SAD 44.

Andover polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Andover Town Hall, while the Newry polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Newry Town Office.

mdaigle@sunjournal.com