Pownal Elementary plays a deep and foundational role in the fabric of our community. It is exactly the kind of place we want for our kids as they grow up: small enough for every adult to know every child, with a culture that blends strong academics, social and emotional learning, and a genuine love of the outdoors. How rare that combination is cannot be fully understood until you have a child attending the school.

As parents of children at PES, our opposition to the Board's proposal to eliminate PES is rooted in a few key areas:

1. Impact on the town of Pownal: Pownal is a rural town with very few true community institutions. PES is not just a school; it is the primary civic and social hub. Taking away the local school isn’t just a change in where kids go to class; it pulls at the core of the town’s identity and day‑to‑day life. PES is also a major reason young families choose to move to Pownal. The growth in incoming class sizes reflects that people see it as a great place to raise children, in large part because there is a small, high‑quality neighborhood school at the center. When rural communities lose their local schools, two things predictably occur: property values fall and outward migration accelerates. That’s not theoretical – it’s what’s happened in other rural towns after consolidation. There is no reason why RSU 5 should voluntarily trigger that pattern here.
2. Impact on RSU 5 as a whole: Pownal voters have been reliably and strongly supportive of RSU 5 budgets and initiatives, election after election. Unlike some of our neighboring towns, we have not pursued withdrawal efforts. In other words, Pownal has been a stable, cooperative partner in this district. This proposal all but guarantees that will change. Eliminating our only school would feel, to many of us, like the district is asking Pownal to sacrifice its core institution for benefits that are uncertain and largely would occur elsewhere.  Alienating one of the most supportive communities in district seems like the opposite of what the board is trying to achieve long term.
3. Impact on Pownal students: PES is not a struggling school that needs to be “fixed.” It is a thriving one. We know from decades of research that smaller class sizes in the early grades are associated with better academic outcomes and lasting benefits. PES already offers that environment. Consolidating students into larger schools with larger classes would almost certainly erode those advantages. It’s hard to understand why we would dismantle something that is working so well for kids, particularly when the proposed benefits elsewhere are speculative. Transportation is another concern. Our students already have relatively long bus rides, but that feels acceptable because they are headed to their local school, right here in town. Under this proposal, some students would see their commute times increase significantly, and this would be even more dramatic for the youngest students in Durham and Freeport who would have to be bussed into the centralized pre‑K component of the proposal. 
4. Effectiveness in meeting the stated goals: Our understanding is that one of the core goals of this proposal is to improve the integration of Durham students with Freeport/Pownal peers before high school. That is a legitimate goal, but this feels like a massively disruptive way to chase it. There are many lower‑impact, common‑sense ideas that could be done first: more shared extracurriculars and sports at younger ages, cross‑town clubs and activities, intentional mixed‑town programming at the middle and high school levels, and targeted efforts to address any true inequities in offerings. Similarly, cost savings are being discussed but in practice, school consolidation often saves far less than predicted once capital costs, transportation, and other secondary effects are fully accounted for. Meanwhile, the costs to students, families, and community cohesion are very real. It feels like we are being asked to destroy a highly effective, beloved school in exchange for financial and programmatic benefits that are uncertain at best.

The brunt of the impact of the Board's proposal falls almost entirely on the Pownal community. PES is a high‑functioning school at the heart of a small town that has consistently supported RSU 5. Closing it would harm students, weaken the town, and destabilize one of the district’s strongest constituencies, all without a clear, evidence‑based case that the stated goals cannot be met through more targeted, less destructive means.

We are asking community members, parents, and alumni to come together to express the importance of Pownal Elementary School, voice their concerns, and request that the School Board remove the elimination of PES from any future plans.  Please join us in signing this petition to keep Pownal Elementary School open in its current form to serve Pownal children as it has for generations. Let's preserve the legacy of quality education and community spirit for years to come.