Commissioner tries to alleviate fears of school closures

    PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Education Commissioner Susan A. Gendron told the crowd of about 100 area residents last Wednesday night that the purpose of the School Administrative Reorganization law is not to cause smaller schools to shut down, but rather to deliver services in the most efficient manner possible.
    “My intent is not to close schools,” Gendron stressed at the regional informational meeting held at the Presque Isle High School Auditorium. “It was never the intent of the Legislature or the governor to close schools. We recognize how important schools are to your communities. Our intent is for schools to remain open. In all actuality, the law makes it harder to close schools.
“Reorganization plans won’t close schools or displace teachers and students,” she said. “Local schools can’t be closed unless the regional board votes by a two-thirds vote and the municipally where the school is located votes to approve the closure. If the municipality votes not to close the school that the regional board votes to close, the municipality is responsible for only the added cost of keeping the school open, not the entire cost.”
During the 90-minute meeting, Gendron noted that the law sets forth state policy to ensure that schools be organized as units in order to provide equitable educational opportunities, rigorous academic programs, uniformity in delivering programs, a greater uniformity in tax rates, more efficient and effective use of limited resources, preservation of school choice, and maximum opportunity to deliver services in an efficient manner.
“All school units, of whatever form and whatever size – SADs, CSDs and municipal school units, small and large, must work with other units to reorganize into larger, more efficient units,” said Gendron. “Existing school units should aim to form regional school units of at least 2,500 resident students, except where geography, demographics, population density, transportation challenges and other obstacles make 2,500 impractical. Where 2,500 is impractical, the units must aim to create units of at least 1,200 students.”
While there are no automatic exemptions, Gendron said there are exceptions from consolidation.
“With the ‘doughnut hole’ exception, school administrative units (SAUs) exercising due diligence with respect to consolidation but experiencing rejection by all other surrounding districts to be included in consolidation will not be penalized if their plan documents efforts to consolidate and the plan includes alternative ways of meeting efficiencies,” she said.
“[In addition] school units whose reported 2005-2006 per-pupil expenditures for system administrative costs are less than 4 percent of total per-pupil expenditures and who have at least three ‘higher performing’ schools, as defined in the May 2007 Maine Education Policy Research Institute report, ‘The Identification of Higher and Lower Performing Maine Schools’ are exempt from consolidation,” said Gendron, “but are still required to submit a plan to meet efficiencies.”
Gendron said that school units that vote against reorganization will face financial penalties starting July 1, 2009. Penalties include a 50 percent reduction in minimum subsidy, a 50 percent reduction in system administration funds, less favorable consideration in approval and funding for school construction, and loss of eligibility for transition adjustments.
In addition, the percentage of state subsidy for a unit that votes against reorganization will not increase to the highest level as called for in the four-year “ramp up” of state funding for education. The percentage of state General Purpose Aid for units that vote against reorganizing will be consistent with a statewide average contribution of 53.86 percent instead of the 55 percent overall state share. The net effect will be that those units that choose not to reorganize will be subject to an incrementally higher local contribution (mill rate) than those who do reorganize.
Each SAU must file a notice of intent by Aug. 31, 2007 to engage in planning and negotiations with other SAUs for the purpose of developing a reorganization plan to form a Regional School Unit (RSU) or a notice of intent to submit an alternative plan to the Commissioner.
Other upcoming steps/deadlines include:
• SAUs must submit their reorganization plan or alternative plan to the Commissioner by Dec. 1, 2007.
• Commissioner will approve plans or must return any plan that does not meet the requirements with specific suggestions and written findings providing reasons why the plan did not meet the requirements by Dec. 15, 2007. Reorganization plans that have been submitted and approved by the Commissioner by Dec. 15 will proceed to a municipal referendum.
• Jan. 15, 2008 – Deadline for holding a municipal referendum in each of the municipalities making up the proposed RSU. This referendum will be paid for by the Department of Education, and is for SAUs with a reorganization plan completed and approved by Dec. 15, 2007. Referendum ballot indicates the start date proposed in the reorganization plan.
• June 10, 2008 – A municipal referendum must be held on June 10, 2008 for any reorganization plan received or revised after Dec. 15, 2007. Referendum ballot indicates the start date proposed in the reorganization plan.
• July 1, 2008 – Suggested start date of new regional school units approved at referendum by Jan. 15, 2008. An RSU board of directors becomes operational on the date set by the State Board of Education.
• Nov. 4, 2008 – In school units where voters rejected a reorganization plan at referendum, those units have until Nov. 4, 2008 to create a new proposal for reorganization and hold a referendum vote. Units not approving a plan by this date will be subject to the penalties for non-consolidating units.
• July 1, 2009 – Latest possible start date of new regional school units approved at referendum after Jan. 15, 2008 and by Nov. 4, 2008. An RSU board of directors becomes operational on the date set by the State Board of Education.
Frank Keenan, superintendent of the Easton School Department, said the state’s timeline is “totally unrealistic.”
“For school districts that haven’t worked together before to come together and try to make big decisions like this is a huge mistake,” he said. “Unfortunately, the kids in school right now are the ones who will suffer.
“Good schools are good schools because of the people,” said Keenan, “not the size.”
One unidentified resident said he was concerned that by reorganizing, individual schools’ pet projects will “fall to the wayside.”
“Things like a school’s driver’s education program, a German class or the chess club might not receive the support they do now if schools are forced to come together,” he said.
Gendron reiterated the purpose of the reorganization law is not to create cookie cutter schools, but rather to eliminate the duplicating of efforts and to deliver services more efficiently.
“I would encourage communities to continue, or start, if they haven’t already, conversations with nearby school administrative units about the possibility of regionalizing, and to have conversations within their own communities about how best to achieve savings as required in the legislation without adversely affecting students in the classroom,” said Gendron. “We will work with you as we implement this new legislation.”
Facilitators provided by the DOE will be available to meet with SAUs at any stage of planning/implementation for which the facilitators are requested.
More information on the School Administrative Reorganization law is available on line at www.maine.gov/education.