Consolidation plan approved
BY MATTHEW STONE
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 08/13/2008

LITCHFIELD -- More than two-thirds of voters in three towns Tuesday endorsed a proposal to redesign their schools' administrative structure to comply with the state's school district consolidation mandate.

Tuesday's vote was the latest test for the state Department of Education as it pushes school districts around the state to consolidate with new partners. The vote in Litchfield, Sabattus and Wales was the third reorganization vote -- and second successful one -- since legislators finished work on the consolidation law in April.

While Sabattus and Wales voters welcomed the proposal, Litchfield voters turned it down.

According to unofficial results, 163 supported the proposal in Sabattus and Wales while 39 opposed it.

In Litchfield, 53 supported the plan and 66 rejected it.

A majority of the three towns' voters was needed for the initiative to pass. Approximately 4.3 percent of registered voters showed up at the polls, according to unofficial tallies.


Unofficial Results

  • Litchfield: 53 yes, 66 no
  • Sabattus: 109 yes, 25 no
  • Wales: 54 yes, 14 no
  • Totals: 216 yes, 105 no


The Department of Education has set a Jan. 30 deadline for merging districts to hold referendums. The new district arrangements take effect July 1, 2009.

"Those people who paid attention realized that we needed to do something in order to help try and reduce or control cost increases," said Robert English, who led the committee that planned the district's reorganization. "This plan allowed for Litchfield, Sabattus and Wales, who are already familiar with working together, to consolidate and not have any new players."

School Union 44 towns' plan to meet the state mandate stood out among the consolidation plans of school districts across the state: It was one of only three plans that proposed keeping the same set of municipal partners together while reshaping the district administration.

Litchfield, Sabattus and Wales, which form the 1,600-student School Union 44, will remain together under the plan, welcoming no other towns' schools into the mix.

In the new district, the Union's five school boards will merge into one, nine-member regional board, whose first task will be hiring a superintendent.

The plan awards Sabattus, the largest of the three towns, four board seats. Litchfield would elect three representatives and Wales would have two board members.

English, of Wales, said he hopes the new district can hold school board elections in November.

In addition to hiring a superintendent, the new board will need to plan the district's budget for the following school year and, perhaps, renegotiate several staff contracts that expire in 2009.

In Litchfield, a random sample of voters interviewed after they cast their ballots Tuesday afternoon appeared split on the proposal.

Danielle and Doug Averill said they voted "yes" out of a desire to keep the three towns together and functioning as closely as possible to the way there are now.

"I just want to keep the schools the way it is, the same towns," Doug Averill said.

Dian White said she did not expect a major change for the three towns' schools.

"I think the setup has been pretty much already established for this group," she said.

Some Litchfield voters appeared skeptical of joining more closely with Sabattus and Wales.

"I don't agree with the way they run their school boards over there," Kathy Hilchey said after casting her ballot at the Litchfield Sportsmen's Club.

"I like to keep my tax dollars in my town," Litchfield voter Merton Parlin said. "I'd like to know where my money is going."

Robert Gordon, a Litchfield representative on the reorganization planning committee, said he suspected Litchfield voters rejected the proposal because they expected their town would contribute more than their share of costs to the district's kitty.

"When you look at the cost-sharing formula, Litchfield is the one that is likely to get a larger share of the costs than they currently have," Gordon said. "However, had it not been passed, there would have been comparable penalties assessed anyways."

The state will ultimately penalize those districts that opt against consolidation.

Gordon cited administrative efficiencies and the ability to split teaching positions between the district's different schools as benefits of the reorganization plan.

"Now we'll be able to align a single curriculum and implement it without fail," Gordon said, "the idea being when our freshmen hit high school, no matter which town they come out of, they should have an equal footing."

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, Ext. 435
mstone@centralmaine.com

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