Cornish School’s Future in Question

As if residents of Cornish didn’t have enough on their plates with growing potential the town will secede from SAU 6 to create its own single-town district, citizens are also at odds over the fate of their local elementary school.

Dozens of concerned residents piled into the Cornish Elementary School gym Thursday night for a public forum on the school’s future, which is said to be in jeopardy due to dwindling enrollment.

According to a report released by a district planning committee, the school’s enrollment of just 83 students in grades K-8 is a decrease of some 60-percent from its peak of 211 students back in 2000. And while there are no current plans to close the school, citizens met to discuss how a potential change to a single-town district would affect enrollment, as well as ways to attract new families to the area.

The Cornish School Board is hosting a public hearing at the school Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. to further discuss its possible secession from SAU 6.