ROLLINSFORD - Area officials will have their chance to present their plan to the state in order to send some students to school in Maine in 2015.

Members of the withdrawal committee are scheduled to meet before the New Hampshire Board of Education during their monthly meeting Wednesday at 9 a.m. in Londergan Hall at 101 Pleasant St. in Concord.

During an Oct. 16 public hearing, the withdrawal committee voted 4-2 to start working on a plan to withdraw from the Authorized Regional Enrollment Area (AREA) plan with Somersworth and form a new agreement to send students in grades 7 through 12 to Marshwood School District, which includes the towns of Elliot and South Berwick, Maine.

Currently, students in Kindergarten through grade 6 attend classes at the Rollinsford Grade School, while grades 7 through 12 are educated in Somersworth.

Rollinsford pays tuition to Somersworth as part of their AREA agreement, which has been in effect since 1968.

The past two votes - determining whether separation was feasible in September and deciding which district to pursue this month - was split down town lines as Rollinsford officials were in favor of it while Somersworth representatives were against it.

The withdrawal committee was formed by officials from Rollinsford and Somersworth after local residents appropriated $5,000 to fund the process in March.

If approved by the state board, officials would present the plan to Rollinsford voters in March, even though it wouldn't take effect until July 2015.

For more information about the Withdrawal Committee, visit www.rollinsford.nh.us/.Agendas and minutes from the state Board of Education are available at its website: www.education.nh.gov/state_board/meetings/index.htm.

jquinn@newstote.com