York Town News
Officials: latest draft of state education plan on fast forward
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK and OGUNQUIT - Local officials do not know what the state's new school consolidation plan will ultimately be, but they agree there is no doubt that educational systems in Maine will be changing.That is the sentiment being voiced by York and Ogunquit officials, including York Superintendent of Schools Dr. Henry Scipione, members of the School Committee and area selectmen as a state-mandated school consolidation plan takes yet another step closer to becoming the law of the land.
Last week, the Maine Legislature's Appropriations Committee received a draft report from its subcommittee on education to consolidate school districts locally and across the state.
In a legislative update issued last week, it was confirmed that the subcommittee presented its proposal to the full Appropriations Committee on Monday, April 9, although the subcommittee is still reportedly in the process of finalizing portions of its proposal.
If adopted by the Appropriations Committee, the proposal would replace Gov. John Baldacci's school district consolidation plan known as "Local Schools, Regional Support" or LSRS. According to the Maine Department of Education, the plan includes many elements of the governor's proposal as well as of the six others that were presented to the Legislature in the weeks that followed the unveiling of LSRS.
Although the Maine Legislature's Education Committee previously presented a proposal that reflected the public outcry against Baldacci's initial plan, with an increased number of districts statewide and provisions maintaining local control of educational quality and budgeting costs, the most recent Appropriations Committee draft is raising concerns as it more closely follow's the LSRS timeline.
The latest draft states there will be no more than 80 regional school districts and most will have a minimum of 2,500 students. The only ones with fewer than that number of students would those with "geographic, demographic, economic, transportation, population density or other unique circumstances," according to the plan, which uses the example of island schools.
The proposal also states that current districts with more than 2,500 students are not automatically exempted from the reorganization process as the overall plan ensures no more than 80 regional school units - including those "island schools" and others with less than 2,500 students.
The plan also includes requirements for savings targets and a single governing board for each district - with the method for community representation to be determined by the new districts.
The plan claims protection for small schools with such provisions as a required two-thirds vote of each regional school board and a majority vote of the municipality to close any given school. If the municipality votes to keep the school open after the board votes to close it, however, the town must absorb the associated costs.
The summary of the new draft plan states that "new regional school units would be in place by July 1, 2008."
That timeline, local officials agree, is hard to imagine, with a fast-forward approach that includes requiring new districts to create "implementation plans" by Nov. 15 - with any revisions due just six weeks later - and certification of those plans by the Department of Education required by Jan. 15, 2008. Communities that cannot come up with their own plans to meet the state requirements would receive plans from the state, according to the most recent proposal.
Elections for the new regional school boards would be required by March 31, with the new "regional school units" scheduled to open on July 1, 2008.
Many questions still exist, Scipione noted, such as just how these newly combined school departments would address funding within their own local budgeting requirements while at the same time meeting the state-mandated timeframe.
"There is no opt-out provision in the current plan," Scipione said, addressing a question that had been raised by local residents and officials alike when talk of state-mandated consolidation first began.
The overall budgeting process for the new districts had not been defined as of last week's update.
"The Appropriations Committee will present a final version in legislation for vote by the full House and Senate, most likely in late April or early May," according to the Department of Education's most recent update.
Ultimately, as Scipione noted, it will be up to the Maine Legislature to make the final decision. Just when that will happen, and whether any public hearing will be held on the proposed plan, remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, as noted at its most recent meeting, the York School Committee is considering discussions with the Kittery School Department and Maine School Administrative District 35, which includes the towns of Eliot and South Berwick, with an eye toward the anticipated state consolidation requirements. The York School Department would have most likely been exempted from required consolidation under the Education Committee's plan, which had a target of approximately 2,000 students per district - and York is just slightly below that number.
Ogunquit and Wells, which currently comprise the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District, fall below that 2,500 minimum number of the new Appropriation's Committee draft plan as well, and talks are reportedly being considered with nearby Kennebunk. Whether Ogunquit and Wells will disband the current two-town district based on Ogunquit's longstanding per-pupil funding concerns is also still a possibility. That change, however, is being initiated at the local level, not mandated by Augusta.
Looking to what appears to be an inevitable state mandate, York School Committee Chairwoman Patty Hymanson is urging residents to make their opinions known to their elected officials.
"Please contact your legislators and demand, at least, a public hearing on the final plan before the Maine Legislature votes on it," Hymanson said, referencing a recent letter to the Legislature from the School Committee that reads, "Before any legislation concerning school district consolidation is voted on, with all due respect, we demand, as residents and public servants of Maine, to have our opinions listened to in a meaningful way. Please schedule a public hearing before a vote."
For more on the progress of the state regionalization plan, visit www.yorkschools.org.
