e-News from the Maine Department of Education

April 23, 2007

The Legislation

The Appropriations subcommittee on education made a final presentation to the full Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, April 11, adding several more details to its proposal.  If adopted by the Appropriations Committee, the proposal would replace the Governor's Local Schools, Regional Support Initiative.  It includes many elements of that proposal, and the six others that were presented to the Legislature.   The full House and Senate will make the final decision on any proposed legislation. (See "The Legislative Process" below for more details.)

The information below is a summary of the current status of the legislation as drafted by the Appropriations subcommittee on education.

• Intent.  As stated the legislative language, the purpose of the bill is to provide:
  • Equitable educational opportunities for all students
  • Rigorous academic programs
  • Uniformity in the delivery of the academic programs that meet the requirements of Maine's Learning Results standards
  • Greater uniformity of school tax rates
  • Efficient use of limited resources to achieve long-term sustainability and financial predictability
  • More effective use of public funds through creating efficiencies and administrative structures that allow for more organized and regular delivery of professional development
  • Preservation and enhancement of existing opportunities for school choice
  • Opportunities to deliver services more effectively than would be possible in smaller units

•  Number and size of districts.  There would be no more than 80 regional school units total.  Most regional school units (RSU's) will have a minimum of 2,500 students; some units would have fewer than 2,500 students because of "geographic, demographic, economic, transportation, population density or other unique circumstances."  That could include, e.g., some island school districts and Native American schools.  All communities would have to be part of a regional school unit and could not "opt out."
  
  Existing units with more than 2,500 students would not be automatically exempted from the reorganization process.  All units would be reviewed for possible reorganization and partnership with other nearby units as part of an overall plan to ensure no more than 80 regional school units.

• Reorganization.  Committee members wanted to afford some flexibility for existing school administrative units to determine who their regional district partners would be, but also want to ensure that new regional school units would be in place by July 1, 2008.  The draft legislation directs the state Department of Education to develop one or more models for existing school administrative units to consider as models as they plan for reorganization.

• Timeline.  Reorganized regional school units are required to be in place by July 1, 2008.  To assist districts in planning for an effective reorganization with other districts, the Department of Education would be required to present one or more models for reorganization of school units.  The Department would also prepare fiscal analysis, demographics, models for board representation and other information to provide guidance and support to communities.
  
  The Department would provide facilitators to help communities with creating implementation plans, which are due to the Department by Nov. 15, 2007.  Revisions to the plans, if required, would be due by Dec. 21, 2007.  If a community did not have an approved plan, the Department would propose one for it, and the State Board would certify.  The State Board of Education certifies all plans by Jan. 15, 2008.  Elections for new school boards by March 31, 2008.  New Regional School Units open July 1, 2008.

• Transition/Implementation. Reorganization planning committees would be chosen by communities.  They would hold one or more public meetings to receive community input; determine the geographic design of new units; determine the size of the board of directors, its composition, apportionment, and method of voting; determine disposition of school property, debts and funds; create a transition plan and interim personnel policies; and other issues as determined during the planning process.
  
  The subcommittee added provisions for public input as communities determine what regional district partners to join with in a reorganized district.

• Savings and targets.  The plan will achieve $36.5 million in state savings; if school units book matching savings at the local level, it would result in an additional $30 million in property tax savings.  Under the legislation, all school units must create a plan to achieve savings targets.  Projected expenditures in transportation, special education administration and facilities and maintenance must be reduced by 5% in 2008-09 compared to the previous year total of the participating school administrative units.

• Governance. All regional school units would have a single governing board, with optional local advisory councils with locally determined functions.
  
  New regional school units would be structured similar to current SAD structures.  Each new unit would develop a governance structure based upon the one person, one vote principle.  Three methods are provided for determining representation, one which allows for at least one representative from every municipality in the district, one that allows for at least one representative from each subdistrict of the region, and one that allows for at-large representation.  The communities comprising the new regional school unit would decide which method to use.

• Local involvement. Local advisory councils would be optional, with locally determined functions.

• Collaboration. The legislation encourages existing and new collaborative efforts, including collaboration with municipal, county and state government.

• Transparency in budgeting.  THE SUBCOMMITTEE HAS ASKED THE FULL APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE TO DETERMINE A FINAL DISPOSITION FOR THE BUDGETING REFERENDUM PROCESS.  The subcommittee draft would require regional school unit boards to present their budget to the voters at a school district meeting, similar to a town meeting, at which any member of the public could propose changes to the budget, and could vote on each part of the budget.
  
  In 2008-2009, the first year of the reorganization, the budget would be sent out for an up-or-down ("validation") referendum vote by all voters in the communities that make up the new district.  The ballot explanation form would present the budget in a way that shows how proposed expenditures compare to the state-recommended funding allocations (Essential Programs and Services).
  
  The following two years, a budget referendum would be required only if the local share exceeds the Essential Programs and Services allocation.
  
  The subcommittee's draft bill calls for the Department of Education to collect and analyze data on the referendum process and suggest legislation to the Legislature's Education Committee by Dec. 1, 2010, that would extend, repeal, or modify the process based on its findings.  The Education Committee would report out legislation in early 2011.
  
  The subcommittee has asked the full Appropriations Committee to determine whether or not to include a sunset provision for the validation referendum.
  

• Teacher and other contracts.  All teacher and other employee contracts that go beyond July 1, 2008, must be honored by the new regional school unit.  That includes central office staff, as well.  Salaries, wages, insurance and retirement benefits, accumulated leave and accrual rights, seniority, contract and employment status, and working conditions will be maintained.  Contracts or agreements of retired or former employees will also be maintained and honored.
  
  Collective bargaining will be governed by existing state labor law when the regional school units replace the current school administrative units as the employer.

• Protections for small schools.  The committee protects small schools in at least three ways:
  • It would take a two-thirds vote of the members of a regional school unit board to close a school.
  • A majority of voters in the municipality where the school resides would also have to vote to close the school.  (If they were to vote to keep it open, that municipality's taxpayers would be responsible for paying the amount that would be saved by the regional school unit if the school were closed.)
  • Greater budget transparency - motivated voters would have the opportunity to influence the budget (which would include closure of any school) at the district-wide annual budget meeting.

By finding efficiencies, more resources could be dedicated to preserving and improving all schools, rather than to administration.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Legislative Process