KINGFIELD — A community meeting to make public several pending options related to the realignment of MSAD #58 students will be held Monday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Kingfield Elementary School.

Superintendent Quenten Clark and members of the MSAD #58 School Board will be on hand to discuss the several options and the issues driving the proposals.

The board has discussed the issue at several meetings and has yet to arrive at a decision. Among the options is a proposal to move all MSAD #58 seventh and eighth grade students to the Kingfield Elementary School, all third through fifth graders to Phillips and all and kindergarten through grade two to Strong. This is perhaps the most dramatic proposal. It should be noted that an option to do nothing, thus moving no students, is also on the table.

Two major factors have led to the challenges facing the school board and administration. First is the steady decline in student population in the district impacting all schools. Secondly the budgetary crisis facing the state of Maine has resulted in a significant decline in state aid and the resultant dramatic impact on MSAD #58.

Many parents have voiced concern and the need for more detailed information plus and opportunity to express their views. The March 22 meeting will permit open discussion and provide residents with the opportunity to ask questions.

It is a difficult issue and one which requires clear and open communication as the district moves toward resolution, remarked one of the meeting’s organizers.