Telstar Regional Middle/High School, Bethel

About Telstar Regional Middle/High School

”Telstar Regional Middle/High School is a middle/high school located in Bethel, Maine, in the United States as part of Maine School Administrative District 44.HistoryThe school was founded in 1968 and named after Telstar — the satellite's Andover Earth Station is in the school district, in Andover. In 1968, a controversy brewed up when a local Baptist minister attempted to get the school to not use the novels Demian by Hermann Hesse, The Emperor of Ice-Cream by Brian More, and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes in an English class.Notable alumni Simon Dumont - Professional Skier Anna Willard - Professional Runner Fred Baily - Professional Nordic Skier Chris Duplessis - Professional Rally Car DriverBudget issuesDistrict property valuations also caused issues within the district itself. With several million dollar homes in the vicinity of Sunday River Ski Resort, the tax base of the area keeps rising. Increasing valuations have led to a dramatic decrease in state aid, resulting in a dramatic decrease in the 2009-2010 district budget.While property valuations have increased, many middle income jobs have been lost due to economic conditions and the poor business climate for the area's paper industry. Sunday River itself, able to weather just about any economic crisis, shed 32 full-time positions in 2009. The loss of jobs in the area have brought about a steady decrease in the school population as families move away seeking employment. Read more

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