By Ward Peck
Staff writer
            Dozens of school board members, administrators and others gathered Tuesday at Portland’s Deering High School to gain a better understanding of the school district consolidation process as Education Commissioner Susan Gendron presented the plan and answered questions.
    The School Administration Reorganization was enacted on June 7 as part of the state’s two-year budget and takes effect immediately. The purpose of the law is to reduce school administrative costs and inefficiencies by cutting the number of school districts and administrative units from the more than 200 currently in existence to no more than 80.
            According to Gendron, the state will achieve 80 school units by using state education funds to strongly encourage school units serving less than 2,500 students to consolidate. The law contains several exceptions to the minimum size requirement, including school serving offshore islands, tribal communities and school districts that can meet both a high-performing standard for learning results and a highly efficient standard for administration costs.
            Gendron acknowledged that most districts represented at the Deering High School meeting, including Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough and South Portland already meet the exception criteria, but made clear that does not mean they will be unaffected by the new law.
            All school districts will be required to submit a consolidation plan or an alternative plan that outlines steps to reduce administrative costs. Gendron said all schools that receive more than the minimum state education subsidy will see reductions in the subsidy allotment for transportation, operations and maintenance and administration.
            A significant change for all school systems whether exempted or not, is a change in law requiring a voter referendum to approve school budgets. Once a school system’s consolidation plan has been accepted and approved, its budget process will be governed by new rules that require citizens to approve or reject a school districts budget. In exempt municipalities that have elected school boards and town or city councils, school boards will still submit budgets to the council for approval. Under the new rules, those councils will no longer have the final say. Once the council approves a school budget, it will the subject of a public referendum and will take effect only if approved by a majority of voters. If a school budget referendum is rejected, the budget will be sent back to the school board. If a proposed budget cannot achieve popular support by the beginning of the fiscal year, Gendron said the last budget submitted for referendum will be used until one is approved by voters.
            The responsibility for developing a reorganization plan or an alternative plan will fall on school boards, Gendron said, although she encouraged school boards to make sure the public and municipal officials are part of the planning process.
            All school districts will be required to file a notice of intent to develop a reorganization plan or alternative plan by Aug. 31 with the Department of Education. The reorganization plans or alternative plans must be submitted by Dec. 1. Gendron said school districts are free to submit their intentions and plans earlier.
    Gendron is required to approve or reject those plans by Dec. 15. If a plan involves reorganization and is approved by Gendron, voters within each municipality then must approve it by Jan. 15, 2008 through a referendum. Plans that do not involve consolidation do not need to go to referendum, Gendron said. All plans approved by Jan. 15 will take effect on July 1, 2008.
Plans received by the commissioner or revised after Dec. 15 or plans rejected by votes will have up to an additional year before they take effect. Gendron said there may be additional state transition funds for those districts that meet the earlier deadline.