To:  Reorganization Planning Committee From:  Mike Weatherwax Date:  March 10, 2008

RE:  Reorganization Planning Legislation

Pat, Deb, and I went to a workshop this morning presented by Drummond and Woodsum regarding the reorganization planning.  While a large part of the workshop dealt with budget referendum issues, they also provided a very clear description of the muddled status of current legislation.  I am going to try to present that information as follows:

1.  LD 1932 is the amendment to the Reorganization Legislation that was developed last fall by the Legislative Education Committee to provide a "fix" to problems in the original legislation.  It was anticipated that this legislation would be passed the first week in January, but that is not how things went . . .

Included in the original LD 1932 were the following (only listed major items below): a.)  provisions for alternative cost sharing methods b.)  provisions for amending  cost sharing formulas c.)  repealing the requirement of a two mill minimum d.)  continuation of minimum subsidy allocations e.)  delay of the budget validation referendum process to 2009 f.)  changing the 2% limitation on voting authority to 5%

2.  LD 1932 was then amended by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.  The most controversial amendments were as follows: a.)  the Damon amendment permits the creation of "super unions" with local towns maintaining significant powers including local collective bargaining, hiring of teachers, etc. just as school unions do now. b.)  the Ray amendment provides for dissolving or getting out of an RSU c.) the Martin amendment provides for requiring the budget validation process for all municipalities in an RSU "union"

LD 1932 passed in the Senate by a vote of 21 to 13

3.  Next the House took up LD 1932.  They added two additional amendments and the legislation passed by 86 to 61 (or a vote close to that).

4.  The House version went back to the Senate today so that the two versions could be combined and they are working on that right now so that one version can go to the Governor.  The Governor has said that he will veto this legislation, I think primarily because of the Damon amendment.  He has ten days to veto it after he receives it.  If it is vetoed, it can go back to the Legislature and if it gets a 2/3 vote the veto is overridden and it becomes law.

5.  Simultaneously, the Governor has introduced his budget Legislation and attached to that is most of the original LD 1932 with the exception that the Governor took out those parts that he did not like.  He took out the following: a.)  the delay in the budget validation referendum b.)  the change in the last date for an RSU referendum c.)  the entire Damon amendment re "super unions" d.)  the change from a 2% to a %5 limitation on voting authority e.)  the entire Ray amendment re dissolving an RSU

So, there were lots of questions (but no clear answers) about if the original LD 1932 is passed, how does that impact the changes in the Governor's legislation  i.e. who wins?

At any rate, it looks like we will still need to wait a few more weeks to see how things shake out before we should meet again with hopefully a definitive set of rules.

The one brighter note is that today the Commissioner today sent a letter saying that if we did not change anything from our December plan submission, then we did not need to submit a plan by March 28; rather, we can send a letter stating that there have been no changes.

Click Here for Statewide Reorganization News

The February 1 date has been pushed back. A letter from the DOE is below:

Dear Superintendent/RPC Chair/Facilitator,

Yesterday, the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee agreed to give Commissioner Susan A. Gendron the flexibility to establish new timelines for the submission of revisions of reorganization and alternative plans. You are no longer required to submit a revision by February 1, 2008. New timelines have been established.

All proposed RSUs anticipating a June 2008 referendum must submit their plans to the Department of Education for final review and Commissioner's approval no later than March 28, 2008. All units not ready to submit a final plan by March 28, 2008 must submit a status/progress report by March 28, 2008. Any plan submitted prior to March 28, 2008 will be reviewed and responded to within 15 days.

Thank you for your efforts to date.

Press Release from the Reorganization Planning Committee

As many in our community know, there is a 20-person committee working on a consolidation plan for the local school districts in Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport.

This work is required by state law. It is challenging and time consuming. Among the many details, the committee is reviewing the liabilities and assets of the schools within the five towns as well as preparing initial recommendations about how the new district will be organized and operated – how its budget will be formed and how its board will govern.

The Reorganization Planning Committee will share its work thus far in a status report at a Public Hearing being held on Wednesday, November 14, at 7:15 p.m. at Camden Hills Regional High School. The public is encouraged to attend to hear more about this important work.

By Dec. 1, in accordance with the state mandate, the committee will have completed a draft plan to send to the Commissioner of Education for her review. As with most plans across the state, ours will not be a final plan as it is impossible to address all required components of the planning in such a short time. The committee hopes to have a final plan developed and sent to the Commissioner by March, 2008.

What follows are some Frequently Asked Questions about the school consolidation and how the committee's work has been proceeding. Additional questions are encouraged and may be addressed to Committee Chair Michael Weatherwax at: Michael_weatherwax@fivetowns.net

HOW WILL CONSOLIDATION AFFECT MY TAX BILL? It is not completely clear, but there is potential for taxpayers in some towns to pay more for education after consolidation than they do now. These calculations, which are based largely on state property valuations and local school enrollments, are still being reviewed and should be considered as "preliminary" only. Additional legislation is anticipated this winter to permit changing the cost sharing formula to better balance costs across our communities.

HOW WILL THIS AFFECT EDUCATION? Nothing is certain, but everyone involved in this process in the five towns is working to ensure that the process does not negatively impact the programs and services that each school offers to its students.

WHAT NEXT? The Commissioner will review the local plan submitted on December 1, and the follow-up plan(s) submitted in early 2008 and offer feedback. Once the plan is approved by the Commissioner, it will be presented to local voters for possible approval, probably in June, 2008. In addition to the Commissioner's feedback, a number of changes in the law have been proposed by legislators and will be taken up during the next legislative session as part of suggested revisions from the Department of Education. Areas of change could include cost sharing formulas, state subsidy rules, penalties for not consolidating and rules about weighted votes on school committees.

DO VOTERS APPROVE THIS? The recommended plan goes before the voters in either June or November, 2008, to go into effect July 1, 2009, if approved.

WHAT IF VOTERS REFUSE TO APPROVE THE PLAN? If voters reject the plan, the legislation calls for financial penalties to be applied to dissenting towns through the state's Essential Programs and Services (EPS) funding formula. A logical next question is whether it might be worth accepting the penalties and not consolidating. This would depend on how significant the penalties will be, and thus far we don't have enough information to make an informed decision about this.

WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION? The minutes of the committee's meetings have been posted at the Five-Town CSD website: http://www.fivetowns.net/subsites/reorgplancom/ In addition, further information about the statewide consolidation process may be found on the Department of Education's website at: http://www.maine.gov/education/supportingschools/index.html

The school reorganization law passed in 2007 requires all school units in Maine to work with other units to reorganize into larger, more fiscally efficient units. School units that do not reorganize face substantial financial penalties.

The Five Town CSD, MSAD #28 and School Union 69 have partnered in this work to create a Regional School Unit (RSU) comprised of Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport.

A Reorganization Planning Committee (RPC) made up of 23 representatives from all five towns has formed to accomplish this task. The committee meets weekly and will update this site frequently with agendas, minutes and news. All committee and sub-committee meetings are open to the public.

The Committee is charged with creating a Reorganization Plan by the December 1, 2007, deadline. Voters in all five towns would then vote upon that plan in January. If the plan is not ready for a January vote, then work will continue and the vote will occur in June 2008.

Individuals with questions about this new law and the process may contact Mike Weatherwax at Michael_Weatherwax@fivetowns.net.

Click here to view a summary of the school reorganization law.