AUGUSTA -- Fayette and Winthrop have one more year to comply with Maine's sweeping school district consolidation mandate now that they have a one-year reprieve from state penalties they faced for turning down a district merger.

But little formal merger planning is taking place, so far.

The two central Maine towns are among 117 Maine school systems granted relief by Gov. John Baldacci when he signed the penalty delay into law on June 19.

Voters in both towns in January rejected plans to merge with the Maranacook-area school district. As a result, Maine was poised to withhold half the state funds intended for the districts' administrative purposes and require that they make up for the lost money with local funds.

The state's consolidation law was an effort to reduce school administrative expenses by cutting the number of districts to 80 from 290. The state used the penalties as an enforcement mechanism.

"We're in a holding pattern," Winthrop schools Superintendent Stephen Cottrell said. "Our priority this spring was to get through graduation, get a budget passed and start to make arrangements for the fall. I would expect for Winthrop, the middle of July, first of August, I'll start to make some calls, see who's interested, and see what their status is."

In Fayette, school officials are waiting to see how consolidation plays out in the districts where mergers take effect Wednesday.

"There are alternative organizational structures and regional school units in existence right now," school board member Jim Wright said, referring to the two administrative structures for consolidated districts. "We can look at, are the RSUs saving money? How are the AOS' working out?"

Both districts planned their budgets for the 2009-10 academic year under the assumption the penalties would be levied. Now that they're recouping the money, they intend to save it for the following academic year's budget.

"It would certainly help going into the next school year," Fayette Superintendent Briane Coulthard said earlier this month.

"We don't know what next year will bring," said John Mitchell, chairman of the Winthrop Board of Education. "We don't want to spend the money."

Both districts will wait until November before intensive consolidation planning gets under way.

That's when voters will choose between repealing Maine's consolidation mandate or keeping it on the books.

Consolidation opponents last year turned enough signatures in to the Maine Secretary of State to force a repeal question on November's ballot.

Fayette and Winthrop officials have informally discussed merging with each other.

And, Wright said, Fayette plans to discuss another merger try with the Maranacook district, which serves Manchester, Mount Vernon, Readfield and Wayne students.

Maranacook-area schools Superintendent Rich Abramson was out of the office Friday and couldn't be reached for comment.

The Fayette, Winthrop and Maranacook districts already share a special-education director and some transportation services. Many of Fayette's middle and high school students attend school in the Maranacook district.

"Logistically, I don't know that there's anyone else that would make sense" as a merger partner, said Mary Wright, a Fayette selectman who is married to Jim Wright.

Whether Fayette merges with another district or not, Jim Wright said, the town will continue to look to save money by collaborating with other districts on key services.

"We want to save taxpayers' money just like the governor does," Wright said.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com