Thornton Academy, Saco school department at odds over contract
Saco’s long‑standing partnership with Thornton Academy is at a crossroads as the two sides negotiate a new contract before the current agreement expires on June 30.
The headmaster of Thornton Academy, Rene Menard, and the superintendent of Saco Public Schools, Jeremy Ray, are offering different readings of the talks. Menard says the district has stalled discussions, putting the 200‑year‑old arrangement in jeopardy. Ray insists the sides are merely fine‑tuning a few details and that Saco wants Thornton to remain the city’s high school.
Both parties agree on the broader goal: preserving the relationship that has allowed Saco students to attend Thornton for generations. The disagreement centers on two unresolved issues. Thornton is pushing for a five‑year contract, the length it has historically enjoyed, while the district prefers a three‑year term with a two‑year mutual option, citing a rapidly changing education policy environment. The second sticking point concerns the language governing “superintendents’ agreements,” the Maine procedure that lets leaders of two districts approve student transfers.
Menard warned families in a Tuesday letter that without a new contract Thornton might not be able to guarantee a place for every Saco high‑schooler next year. He said the district’s negotiating team has made allowing Saco students to attend other regional schools its top priority and cautioned that a drop in Saco enrollment — about 59 % of Thornton’s population comes from the city — would force the academy to alter its programming.
Ray responded that the confidential nature of the talks had been compromised by the letter and reiterated that Saco is not seeking to move students elsewhere. He said the district values Thornton’s two‑century contribution and wants to keep it as the city’s high school.
The school board chair, Sarah Truman, told observers that the board believed it was close to an agreement and described Menard’s letter as a stark reversal from the week before.
Outside the negotiation table, Thornton teachers took to Main Street on Wednesday afternoon, holding signs that invited passing drivers to honk if they love the academy and urged them to attend that evening’s school board meeting. The meeting drew a standing‑room‑only crowd, with more than 100 people filling the room fifteen minutes before the 7 p.m. start.
A point of consensus emerged over free school lunches. Although Thornton does not accept federal funding to preserve curricular independence, the academy agreed to cover the cost of free meals for Saco students, mirroring the benefit provided to all Maine public school pupils. The district noted that this issue, along with several others, was resolved during mediation that began in May, after negotiations opened in 2024.
On Tuesday, Saco voters approved a $59.9 million school budget that includes an additional $1.1 million earmarked for higher tuition payments to Thornton.
As the June 30 deadline looms, both sides say they remain committed to finding a solution, but the outcome will shape whether Saco’s students continue to attend Thornton Academy under the terms that have defined their relationship for two centuries.
