AUGUSTA – At least five dozen new legislative proposals, better than one in 10 of those submitted by lawmakers by this month’s deadline for review by House and Senate leaders, appear to deal with Maine’s controversial school system consolidation law.

In advance of the January start of the Legislature’s next regular session, details of the proposals have yet to be fleshed out, and the list of 575 requests compiled to date has not been sifted for duplications.

But categorization by titles alone shows plainly that numerous lawmakers returning for the last half of their two-year terms view the fledgling effort to reduce the number of separate school units around the state as a top priority deserving emergency consideration.

Legislative leaders are slated to meet Oct. 25 to vote on what bill requests should be allowed to come before lawmakers in 2008.

Linking mere bill titles directly to school system consolidation is an inexact task. On Wednesday, as a list of bill requests began to circulate at the State House, one legislative staff count put the number at about 80 while a preliminary tally by the Baldacci administration reached 69.

An Associated Press list topped 60. In some cases the direct tie between a title and the school consolidation law could only be surmised.

Many proposed bill titles, however, left no doubt about the intention of the sponsor’s intent.

“An Act to Repeal the School Administrative Units Reorganization Law,” not the only one of its kind, was put forth by Senate Minority Leader Carol Weston, R-Montville, and entered as Legislative Request 2937.

The goal of the consolidation plan, championed by Gov. John Baldacci after an even more sweeping blueprint he originally put forth was derailed, is to create a maximum of 80 school units of at least 2,500 students in most instances.

Currently, by the administration’s count, Maine has 290 school districts and 152 superintendents, some of whom serve multiple districts.

The new law allows exceptions due to geography, light population densities and other factors.

“I will not support any legislation that undermines the education reforms passed last session by an overwhelming, bipartisan majority,” Baldacci said in a statement Wednesday. “We must continue to move forward with the elimination of duplicate administration and overhead in K-12 education, and I will strongly oppose any effort to weaken the law’s language or to undermine its intent.”

Last month, Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said the final number of new districts might come in at 75. Gendron and Baldacci announced at the time that all districts had submitted their consolidation plans and the state had sent its letters of response.

Approximately 80 percent of the districts filed at least one plan that meets requirements of the law, Gendron said.

Baldacci said then he would vigorously oppose any efforts to repeal the law or lessen penalties for noncompliance.

“We must move forward. This plan passed with overwhelming and bipartisan support from the Legislature, and I will make sure it stays the law,” he said.

By Dec. 1, districts have to present final organization plans, and cities and towns would vote on whether to approve mergers in January.

The school district consolidation plan is supposed to save more than $36 million in the next fiscal year.

In addition to the hundreds of bill requests filed by legislators, Baldacci aide Ryan Low said Wednesday the administration had thus far submitted 47 legislative proposals.