AUGUSTA – The Department of Education unveiled a model school administration consolidation plan that calls for absorbing the state’s current 290 school units into 62 new districts.

Commissioner of Education Susan Gendron outlined the model during a forum before the Legislature’s Education Committee at the Cross Office Building on Monday. Appearing with her were Senate Majority Leader Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, and Rep. Thomas Saviello, a Wilton independent, representing the rural caucus.

Although Gendron emphasized that communities still have the opportunity to change the makeup of the new school districts, time was not on their side. The consolidation proposal is part of the 2008-09 state budget and is expected to win the approval of the Appropriations Committee this weekend.

Mitchell admonished the committee to move quickly after it reviewed a map prepared by the Education Department that illustrates possible consolidations across the state.

Gendron said the model, which can be seen on the Web, is based on a plan advanced by a subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee and is subject to revision.

“This is one possibility” Gendron told the committee. She described the map as “a catalyst for conversation.”

The Appropriations subcommittee suggests a maximum of 80 districts, each district providing instruction for at least 2,500 students. It also allows for exceptions in “unique” cases in which consolidation is impractical because of geographical or demographic issues.

The model distributed by Gendron envisions 62 districts, but takes into account some of those exceptions.

Gendron told the education panel that while many of the new districts have at least 2,500 students and one publicly funded high school, some rural districts will be allowed to operate with fewer pupils. In addition, island communities, the Unorganized Territory and American Indian schools will remain as they are currently structured.

“This is a possible consolidation that might occur,” Education Committee Chairman Peter Bowman, D-York, told the panel. “Do not think anything you hear here is the final word.”

Mitchell, a member of the education panel, said the proposal meets the goal of saving $36.5 million in school administrative costs by the end of the 2009 fiscal year. She said communities would need to vote on the new districts by January 2008 and have the consolidated administration in place when school opens that fall. Mitchell said that while change was difficult, something had to be done to cut the cost of education. With costs rising and enrollments declining, consolidating administrative services was a necessary step, she said.

“I think we’ve come a long way,” Mitchell said of the various proposals considered over the past few months. “How do we change the way we’ve done things for the last 50 years and not close schools while respecting local communities?”

Saviello said members of the rural caucus supported the need to save $36.5 million in the next budget but were reluctant to put the new districts in place by next year. He said the group would rather wait until 2009 to implement the change. He said rural communities were concerned that consolidation could result in schools being closed.

“This is a significant step for the communities of the rural areas. The schools are the center of our population,” he said. “These schools are essential to the rural areas and we need to protect them.”

Under the proposal, large cities such as Bangor, Portland and Lewiston would retain their existing administrative structure. In the north, Fort Fairfield would be folded into a district containing Caribou and Limestone. On the coast, schools in the Rockland and Thomaston districts would operate under the same administration.

Rep. Peter Edgecomb, R-Caribou, said he believed savings could be realized through schools collaborating with one another instead of having consolidation forced upon them. He said the Education Committee had worked hard to create local planning alliances and they deserved to be given a chance to work.

“Change needs to occur at the local level and not this Legislature cramming it down the people’s throat,” Edgecomb said.

Mitchell said the state was pressed by time and budgetary needs and that while no plan would be perfect, consolidation was destined to happen. She said the time for hashing out various proposals was all but over.

“The time for rolling around these things is fast coming to an end. … Let’s roll up our sleeves and make this work,” Mitchell said. “By the end of this weekend, this is going to be in the budget. It is imperative that you find a path through these woods.”

Rep. Patricia B. Southerland, D-Chapman, who is serving her first term in the Legislature, said that while she initially had “no hope” that consolidation could be accomplished, she was pleased by the way the process resolved itself.

“This is the most positive feeling I’ve had on this issue,” Southerland said. “I think it’s very commendable. The reality is that we have a fiscal issue and certainly nobody wants to take money away from kids.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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A link to maps and descriptions of the proposed school districts can be found at www.bangordailynews.com.