Staff Writer

An arbitrator has ruled some Arundel students have the choice to attend Middle School of the Kennebunks, but the school district will effectively pay twice for their education.

Arbitrator Patrick Coughlan ruled Tuesday in favor of Thornton Academy that allowing 15 students from each middle school grade level to attend Middle School of the Kennebunks was a breach of contract, except for students who requested the switch before arbitration began.

The ruling will allow 19 students to transfer from Middle School of the Kennebunks to Thornton. They include 12 sixth-graders, three seventh-graders and four eighth-graders.

 “He handed down the ruling that provides wins and losses for both sides. Let’s face it, the academy’s position was none of the students could go to MSK, now 19 can. We’re obviously glad those students are able to come, but we’re disappointed we’re not able to offer choice to others,” said RSU 21 Superintendent Andrew Dolloff.

RSU 21 will have to pay tuition to Thornton Academy for the 19 students who transfer.

Dolloff said the district will pay 100 percent of the tuition for one year and 75 percent of the tuition for any of the 19 students who stay at Middle School of the Kennebunks through eighth grade.

“The arbitrator ruled we would have to pay their tuition, which we had already budgeted,” Dolloff said.

The tuition is estimated at $315,000 for the 19 students, according to Thornton. Tuition is approximately $7,800 for every student who attends Thornton.

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.

Coughlan said in his ruling Thornton Academy would never have opened a middle school without the contract’s assurance Arundel would send its students there for the foreseeable future. He described the RSU 21 school board’s vote to allow up to 45 middle school students to attend Middle School of the Kennebunks as “contrary to the terms of the contract,” which the district is bound to follow.

Coughlan also dismissed an RSU 21 school board vote to terminate the contract next year as “legally irrelevant” since the district has no means to pay the roughly $1.2 million termination fee outlined in the contract.

“The RSU board does not currently have legal access to good funds sufficient to pay the termination fee. Termination can only be accomplished by following approval by RSU 21’s voting public of a mechanism to raise or provide for the termination funds,” Coughlan wrote.

Dolloff said the school board made its feelings clear at the June 21 meeting and will continue to explain to the public the savings potentials of buying out the contract.

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