Staff Writer

 An arbitrator for RSU 21 and Thornton Academy has ruled Arundel students can’t enroll in Middle School of the Kennebunks until a contract dispute is settled.

As of July 6, RSU 21 officials had received 19 requests from Arundel parents for their children to attend Middle School of the Kennebunks next year. The students’ names have been placed on a waiting list, according to RSU 21 Superintendent Andrew Dolloff.

On June 21 the district’s school board voted unanimously to allow up to 15 Arundel students in each grade to switch middle schools.

The families’ names have not been released due to confidentiality concerns.

“By its action, the (school) board is not looking to detract from Thornton Academy Middle School or its staff; we’re simply trying to provide parents who live in the district with opportunity to choose the public school that exists within the district, and we’re pleased to be able to do that,” Dolloff said in a July 6 press release.

RSU 21 board members also unanimously agreed at the meeting to terminate a contract with Thornton Academy to educate Arundel’s middle school children. The contract is to end before the 2011 school year, however the policy that allows students to choose Middle School of the Kennebunk begins a year sooner. At issue is whether that decision itself violates the contract.

High school students may choose to attend Thornton Academy or Kennebunk High School.

Once the contract is terminated, parents will maintain the option to send their children to Thornton Academy for middle school without paying tuition.

Thornton Academy representatives asked arbitrator Patrick Coughlan to prohbit RSU administration from accepting any further requests for students to be placed on a waiting list or moving forward with any requests it received so far. District officials said they are honoring the order. RSU officials had indicated they will wait to decide which students will be allowed to make the switch until later this summer.

Eleven of the requests are from parents of sixth-grade students, five are from parents of seventh-grade students and three are from parents of eighth-grade students. They total 12 percent of Arundel’s middle school population.

At the heart of the argument is the word “all” in the contract RSU 21 inherited from the defunct Arundel school board that requires “the Academy (to agree) to educate all middle level pupils who qualify as legal residents of Arundel.”

According to Carl Stasio, Thornton Academy headmaster, the contract is clear that all students from Arundel must attend Thornton Academy Middle School.

“All means all, you can’t pick 15 kids in each grade, that would be a violation of the contract,” Stasio said.

Dorothy Gregoire, an Arundel parent, said the intent was to ensure Thornton Academy did not cherry-pick students by denying children with special needs a place at the private school and now the school is asserting a different intent.

Stasio dismissed that interpretation.

“Frankly that’s absurd. All meant all and it still means all. We were going to take special education kids period. That’s invented by folks who may want to cast aspersions. The biggest department in Thornton Academy is the special education department,” he said.

Debra Gorton is happy she may be able to send her children to Middle School of the Kennebunks after elementary school.

“We actually had one daughter who attended Thornton Academy Middle School, and we didn’t have any major complaints, but it makes no sense to drive half an hour for her extra curricular activities. I’m extremely happy with (RSU 21). Its just makes a better fit for us,” Gorton said.

Gregoire agreed that staying inside the district was better for her children as well.

“(RSU) is the district school system which my tax money goes to,” Gregoire said. “I’ve been longing for something like this, some sense of community, a sense of belonging, instead of bouncing around.”

Jon Renell, an Arundel parent, feels the $1.2 million buyout of the contract is a hefty price to pay for a few students.

“To spend $1.2 million for 19 kids is a huge waste of taxpayers’ money. It’s $55,000 per child. How much are they going to save? Where is the savings?” Renell asked.

Dolloff was on vacation and could not be reached for comment regarding the financial aspect of the decision.

In previous discussions, RSU 21 officials said savings would come through a combination of tuition savings and greater efficiency within the district that will have a cumulative effect as children who attend Middle School of the Kennebunks will be more likely to choose Kennebunk High School over Thornton Academy.

Renell added the buyout might benefit Thornton to improve the school and possibly draw the families back.

Thornton Academy invested $3 million to transform one of its buildings on campus into the middle school to accommodate Arundel sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students as the student body grew too large for Mildred L. Day School in Arundel. That investment was used to help determine the value of the 10-year contract that began in 2006. The contract contains a provision for a buyout with a price that drops annually.

Arbitration is set to begin on July 26 and lasts three days.

A decision will likely be reached in early August.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.