ORRINGTON – Members of the state’s suggested Regional School Unit 15 committee met Monday to discuss “required elements” for creating the new RSU, and then voted on each of the 21 elements by indicating if they were complete, in progress or not yet started.

The reorganization plan cover sheet, which lists the requirements, must be approved by the individual school boards that will form the new unit and then presented to the state by Dec. 1, state facilitator Walt McIntire told the committee.

“The fact of the matter is we’ve come to a point where we have to make some formal decisions,” he said. “The law requires that each school board sign off or approve sending this plan to the state.”

The 10 communities within RSU 15 are Brewer, Orrington, Dedham, and those towns within SAD 63 and CSD 8. SAD 63 is made up of Holden, Eddington and Clifton, and CSD 8 includes Amherst, Aurora, Great Pond and Osborn.

The process is being complicated, however, by the fact that the CSD 8 board has not officially agreed to be an RSU 15 member. That board will meet next week to make a final decision.

“This is simply a draft,” McIntire said, referring to a check list of required elements for reorganizing. “This is kind of a score card. The plan itself will include a lot more.”

Among the areas of reorganization upon which the committee indicated progress are: partners, size, composition and appointment of the governing body, methods of voting, composition of local school committees, disposition of property, existing school funds and financial obligations, explaining the process if a unit decides not to join, and estimates of cost savings.

Items not yet started include purchase and lease obligations, school personnel contracts, transition of the budgets and policies for interim personnel. The group members agreed that they have completed documentation of public meetings.

The committee members did not identify any barriers or indicate a need for assistance from the state on any of the elements they discussed Monday evening.

At the end of the meeting, the committee voted to make Kyle Casburn, the Orrington School Committee chairman, the RSU 15 committee chairman.

The committee also discussed potential savings, renegotiating teacher contracts, and what the Legislature is doing with the 60 or so submitted bills associated with the reorganization law.

“Potential savings are in the long run, not the short run,” McIntire said. “It’s very unlikely that there will be savings [locally] in the first year. The state is going to save money.”

Once Department of Education Commissioner Susan Gendron receives the plans, she has until the Dec. 15 to notify the RSUs if the plans are approved or not approved.

After that, monthly progress updates will be required, up until residents vote on joining the RSUs, McIntire said. Those referendums are expected to happen locally in November 2008.

“My sense is January, February and the first of March are going to be a pretty busy time,” McIntire said.

The next RSU 15 meeting is scheduled for Jan. 10 in Brewer.