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