AUGUSTA -- A Midcoast-area initiative to consolidate two high schools into one regional school that would offer career development and college classes could receive a boost today at a state Board of Education meeting.

The Midcoast effort could lay the groundwork for similar regional school construction projects statewide.

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron is asking board members to adopt a preliminary set of guidelines for districts seeking approval to construct regional high schools, career education centers and higher education facilities all on one campus.

Legislators approved a bill in April directing the state to set aside school construction funds specifically for such projects, making the money available in 2012.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Rector, R-Thomaston, also authorizes earlier funding for a pilot regional school.

Rector said officials creating a plan to merge Rockland District High School and Georges Valley High School in Thomaston -- in a project known as Many Flags -- would apply to make Many Flags the pilot project.

When officials from the two districts began considering the merger, Rector said, no pot of money existed to support such projects. And the state had no established criteria for multiple-district school construction projects.

"We wanted to address that issue as much as anything," he said.

The bill, Rector said, will eventually guarantee construction funding for regional projects that meet the new criteria.

School construction projects that tie together high schools, college classes and career education can support regional economic development, Board of Education Chairwoman Ann Weisleder said.

"Construction rules have been traditionally based on safety and health needs," she said. "It's a new way of looking at school construction with bringing in other elements beyond the traditional way."

Campuses with high school, technical education and college courses offer added opportunities for a variety of students, Department of Education spokesman David Connerty-Marin said. Advanced students pursuing college-level work, students who do not want to choose between career-oriented or traditional high school, and adult learners could benefit from the arrangement.

The push for such regional education centers parallels efforts by school districts across the state to merge administrative units to comply with the state's 2007 law requiring school districts to merge.

The two efforts, however, are not related, Rector said. Officials began work on the Many Flags idea long before Gov. John Baldacci pushed for school district reorganization.

"We're ahead of the curve and proud of it, frankly," he said.

Some say the regional model could become more applicable once districts across Maine become larger and more regional, first.

"It's certainly something that joining school districts may be more prepared to take a look at," Connerty-Marin said.

The two school districts involved with Many Flags -- School Administrative District 5, based in Rockland, and SAD 50, based in Thomaston -- are slated to merge under the consolidation mandate.

Old Town and Orono residents recently restarted discussions about merging their two high schools and involving the flagship University of Maine campus for the higher-education component. Those towns, however, do not intend to merge under the school-district consolidation law.

Douglas Rooks, who has written widely about about school-district consolidation, suggested the regional education centers could eventually serve as a new model for school construction projects.

It could work in tandem, he said, with school districts' efforts to consolidate administratively.

"I think this is an embryo for a new construction program," he said.

Weisleder, however, said the regional construction model would not apply well to most school districts working to merge under the reorganization law.

"If it were related to consolidation," she said, "it would not necessarily be related to higher education components."

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, Ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com