AUGUSTA -- Maine has withheld subsidy checks this month from nearly a third of the state's school districts, delaying a monthly infusion of funds for 91 school systems.

Department of Education officials say the districts have not submitted required information about expenditures and student enrollment.

Superintendents reached Thursday said not receiving their September funds has had no substantial effect on district operations. And they will recoup the losses in October once the state receives the needed documents.

But problems could arise, the officials said, if the Department continues to delay dispensing the monthly subsidy amounts.

Superintendents blamed the problem on a new state system for submitting the data and rules that require frequent, labor-intensive data submissions by their small administrative staffs.

While it is common for the state to withhold some subsidy checks each fall, the number of districts not receiving their September funds is higher than usual, according to Department of Education officials. The department does not maintain statistics showing the number of checks withheld each year. The list of affected districts includes school systems large and small. South Portland schools -- which serve more than 3,000 students -- are on the list, as is the three-student Lake View Plantation school district.

School Union 133 Superintendent Greg Potter said supplying the state with needed data has become a labor-intensive process since the state introduced a system that allows districts to transfer reports electronically.

"For some school systems, it's certainly added a significant burden of time," said Potter, whose district serves Palermo, Somerville and Windsor. "It's created an incredible amount of work on our end."

The state is holding nearly $379,000 intended for the three Union 133 towns.

In recent years, the state has begun requiring financial reports every quarter, rather than twice each year.

"That's a big change from what they used to have us submit," Potter said.

Jim Rier, finance and operations director at the Department of Education, said school systems have had time to adjust to the new system.

"Most of them had training and were well aware of the change," he said. "This is the second year of using the system."

But the training has been insufficient, said Briane Coulthard, principal and superintendent of Fayette Central School.

"If those meetings were there, I'd go to them," he said.

The state has withheld nearly $42,000 from Fayette's 140-student system this month.

As the state pushes school districts to consolidate and cut down on administrative expenses, Potter said, there has been high turnover among school systems' support staff.

"A lot of people are moving around to different jobs because of the school consolidation initiative," he said.

And as staff members transfer, central offices lose those who know how to handle data submissions.

"It's a big change and it's the second year of it and school systems are still struggling with it," Potter said. "There hasn't been much outreach in the field."

"When I see 91 districts withheld, I'm wondering who's doing what on a competency basis," Coulthard said.

Among those 91 districts are multiple towns from school unions, an administrative structure in which member towns are considered separate school districts.

"We have a very small office staff and we have to do everything times three," said Frank Boynton, superintendent of School Union 132.

Union 132's three towns -- Chelsea, Jefferson and Whitefield -- are without $463,000 in state subsidy money this month.

"We're trying to get our balance sheets in on time while we're trying to run our payrolls," Boynton said. "We don't have time to get that in and keep everything going."

For the state, the missing information -- which was due to the state by Aug. 15 and reflected statistics from the end of the 2007-08 school year -- is critical data, Department of Education spokesman David Connerty-Marin said.

"The problem is that we don't get the financial information that we need, so we're not able to produce the information that units need from us," he said.

The state uses the required budget information and enrollment statistics to determine the size of individual districts' state subsidy, Connerty-Marin said.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811,

Ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com