The residents of Oakland, Belgrade, Sidney, Rome, China, Vassalboro and Winslow owe a big thanks to the members of a regional planning committee that has come up with a consolidation plan for the schools in School Administrative District 47 and School Union 52.

Whether residents agree with the plan or not, the members of the committee have struggled mightily through the winter and spring to come up with a bold plan that will create a 5,000-student district, one of the largest in the state. They attended countless meetings over 13 months, crunched endless numbers, analyzed complex data, consulted with state education officials and at one point, watched preliminary plans fall apart after a significant player walked away from the table.

What drove the group throughout much of the process was precisely the right thing: a focus on the educational advantages offered by consolidation. Ideally, when education is the focus during consolidation, then costs go down and learning goes up. What is seem as a potential for loss by community members becomes, instead, an opportunity for gain.

If one school can't offer a high-level or unusual course, another might be offering just that class, for example, thus expanding the opportunities available to students. Beyond courses, there may be entire programs -- remedial, vocational or enrichment -- offered by one town's schools that could be available to all consolidated district students. If multiple towns' schools offer identical programs, well then, there's opportunity for cost-saving through consolidation or elimination.

SAD 47 Superintendent James C. Morse Sr. says the committee has projected savings over the first three years totaling $244,000 in special education and administrative costs. That will be one of the aspects considered by state Education Commissioner Susan Gendron when she reviews the plan once it's submitted.

While the plan is an accomplishment, it's hardly a universally loved one. Instead, as one member said, "It is a compromise for everybody." Some planning committee members oppose it, including a representative from Winslow, for whom the apportionment of school debt has become a problem.

In a process that seemingly only has corners to turn rather than a visible finish line, the state-mandated rules require that all proposed district towns vote on the plan if state Education Commissioner Susan Gendron approves it. So commission members, now that they've accomplished one miracle, will have to sally forth and explain the plan to their communities.

We have one piece of advice for them as they take to the hustings: Keep it simple. This is a very complex process, certainly. And like much that concerns schools, the meaning and purpose can easily get lost in the mountain of words that education professionals use.

In the end, though, consolidation is about two very important things: teaching our children well and saving taxpayer money. We hope that this new plan accomplishes both.