Given the unrest that continues to surround the state’s school consolidation efforts, it is not unexpected that lawmakers have submitted dozens of bills to revise, or in some cases, repeal the reorganization law. It is premature, however, to make major changes to the law.

All of the state’s school districts have filed consolidation plans with the state. Eighty percent of these plans have been found to comply with the intent of the law. With this much progress, it is not time to go backward.

Still, up to 80 bills to change the reorganization law have been filed by lawmakers. Legislative leaders are scheduled to meet next week to determine what bills – nearly 600 have been filed so far for the short session that begins in January – will go before lawmakers.

While some of the proposed bills reflect dissatisfaction from constituents about the consolidation law, legislators must keep in mind the reasons it was broadly supported earlier this year as part of the state budget. Primary among these reasons is the amount of school funding the state and communities can afford to contribute to schools. Maine has one of the most expensive school systems, per pupil, in the nation, with an inordinate amount going to district level administration.

The number of students in Maine schools has declined by more than 30,000 since the 1980s, while the number of school divisions and administrators has increased. Maine now has 290 school districts and 152 superintendents.

Deciding this was not sustainable, lawmakers, after years of study and numerous reports calling for a major reduction in the number of school districts in Maine, lawmakers passed a consolidation plan that aims to merge the districts into a maximum of 80 with at least 2,500 students each, with exceptions based on geography, population density and other factors.

Gov. John Baldacci set the right standard last week. “We must continue to move forward with the elimination of duplicative 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.”

This should not mean that the law may not need some minor revisions. But, the Department of Education is already working with districts to remove or minimize obstacles that make consolidation difficult. If many districts face similar problems, a legislative fix may be necessary. Blanket deadline extensions or changes in district size have already been extensively debated and do not need to be revisited.

In the face of continuing budget strains, going over the same ground again would not be a good use of limited legislative time.