READFIELD -- The first phase of work is done for representatives from six towns proposing to merge their schools in response to Maine's school-district consolidation law.

Fayette, Manchester, Mount Vernon, Readfield, Wayne and Winthrop school boards voted Wednesday night to send a 32-page plan laying out merger details to the state.

The six towns' residents will have their chance to vote on it in a referendum Jan. 27, 2009.

All but one of the seven board votes at Wednesday's meeting were unanimous. Winthrop's board voted 3-1 to submit the plan, with member Joseph Pietroski dissenting.

"I think it's important that we have time to flesh out where the savings are," he said.

Submitting the merger plan caps 18 months of planning the new district. The work paused for much of the summer, as the towns' school boards debated whether to adopt an alternative structure or stick with the conventional regional-school-unit design.

Planners ultimately abandoned the alternative structure, but the final plan addresses the points that drew some to that design.

The proposal allows towns to maintain local school boards. It also lays out a lengthy process -- two years minimum -- before a school can be closed.