It likely will not immediately lower taxes or be appreciably noticeable to students or parents, but the tentative plan to consolidate Katahdin schools next September will be ready for initial approval within two weeks, school officials said.

The nine-member committee of East Millinocket, Medway and Millinocket representatives is almost finished with its plan to combine the three school systems into one alternative organizational structure in compliance with a state law forcing statewide school consolidation, said Thomas Malcolm, chairman of the Millinocket School Committee. Woodville, the other Katahdin town, is planning to join schools in the Lincoln Lakes region.

“We should have something to vote on in the next week or two,” Malcolm said. “I think we will have it finalized.”

Only some governance issues remain, said Jennifer Olsen, a committee member.

If the committee approves the plan, it then must go to the towns, the Maine Department of Education and finally to voters for approval by January. If all goes well, it is supposed to be in place on July 1, 2009.

The plan must at the Department of Education for initial review by Nov. 14, so the committee is on time, Malcolm said.

“I am excited about it,” Olsen, business coordinator for the Katahdin Area Chamber of Commerce, said of the plan. “To work with the group has been a refreshing new experience with a lot of learning for me.”

Under new school reorganization laws, Katahdin towns could form an alternative organizational structure because they have 1,000 or more students and Millinocket has no municipality to its west. The state pushed northern Penobscot County to form one large regional school unit of about 27 towns, an effort that failed after lapsed deadlines and administrative difficulties.

The irony of the state-enforced effort, Malcolm said, is that at least initially it will not create any significant taxpayer savings or reduce bureaucracy. No school closings or staff layoffs will likely come immediately because of the plan.

“We will put it in the plan, but a lot of the stuff we do already,” Malcolm said.

Under the present school setup, the central office administration for schools in the three towns and many school programs and sports already are combined under Superintendent Sara Alberts. Many costs are shared. The Katahdin region also buys in bulk in cooperation with other school systems.

One great advantage of consolidation, however, will be that it combines greater numbers of students and programs so students who want to participate in programs not offered within their towns should be able to seek them in other Katahdin schools, Malcolm said.

Committee members representing Millinocket are Wallace Paul, Olsen and Malcolm. Representing East Millinocket are Mark Marston, Bill Hamlin and Gary Moore. David Dickey, Greg Stanley and George Stanley represent Medway.

The northern Penobscot County school reorganization committee, of which the Katahdin committee is part, is due to meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Schenck High School of East Millinocket.

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