Maine Municipal Association

School Reorganization

The Municipal Clerk’s Responsibilities

October 4, 2007

School Reorganization Law Enacted as Part XXXX of budget (LD 499)

• Establishment of Regional School Units (RSU’s)• Goal to serve 2,500 students• Provides for a 1,200 student exception

• Geography, demographics, economics, transportation, population and other

• Coastal island and tribal schools exempt

• Provides for the creation of Reorganization Planning Committees

Reorganization Planning Committees Submit plans by December 1 to

Department of Education for consolidation into a Regional School District School units included Size, composition, apportionment of governing body Method of voting for governing body Powers/duties of local boards created Disposition existing debt/lease-purchase obligations Assignment of school personnel contracts Development of budget Identification of savings Other

Three clerk-related areas of school reorganization law

Reorganization Referendum Design & Election of Regional Boards School Budget Process

• Open meeting for school budget• Budget validation referendum

Reorganization Referendum

Dates January 15, 2008

• Absentee ballot issues• December 1, 2007 plan submitted to DOE• December 15, 2007 DOE action• When would the actual plan be available for

absentee voters

June 10, 2008 November 4, 2008

Reorganization Referendum

Article: Do you favor approving the school regionalization plan prepared by the (insert name) Reorganization Planning Committee to reorganize (insert names of affected school administrative units) into a regional school unit with an effective date of (insert date)?

Reorganization Referendum

Article Statement Law requires that a statement of

consequence be printed on the ballot with the question

However, the law provides for two different statements

Reorganization Referendum

Statement - 1 20-A, §1461, sub§5

A “YES” vote means that you approve of the (municipality or school administrative unit) joining the proposed regional school unit. The financial penalties under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 15696 to the existing school administrative units will no longer apply to the proposed regional school unit.

Reorganization Referendum Statement - 2

Found in unallocated section of law

A “YES” votes means that you approve of the (municipality or school administrative unit) joining the proposed regional school unit, which will be provided with the following incentives:

• More favorable consideration in approval and funding of school construction projects; and

• Eligibility for additional financial support for reorganizations costs.

Reorganization Referendum… Statement 2, Continued A “NO” vote means that you do not approve of the (municipality

or school administrative unit) joining the proposed regional school unit, which will result in the existing (municipality or school administrative unit) receiving the following penalties:

• Less favorable consideration in approval and funding of school construction projects; and

• A reduction in state funding of education costs in an amount estimated to be $ ___ for school year 200_ and $ ___ for school year 200_, with the possibility of ongoing penalties for continued failure to join an approved regional school unit. Reduction in state education funding will likely result in an increased mill rate expectation to meet the local share of education costs.

Reorganization Referendum

Statement Wording Difference Legal Issues

Which statement to use?

Can supplementary financial information in addition to the penalty impacts be included on the ballot?

Reorganization Referendum

In future years School systems may join existing

regional school unit

Regional school unit to approve SAU joining the regional school unit

• Article mirrors the wording found in the law, which includes the use of the less negative consequence statement

Designing/Electing New Regional Boards

Election of Officials – 4 Methods

• Weighted Votes - 20-A, §1472(2) & §1473(2-B)

• Subdistrict - 20-A, §1472(1) & §1473(2-A)

• At-large - 20-A, §1472(3) & §1473(2-C)

• Other - 20-A, §1472(4)

Designing/Electing New Regional Boards

School board election, generally For the purpose of nominations, regional school unit

board directors are considered municipal officials and must be nominated in accordance with Title 30-A, chapter 121 or with a municipal charter, whichever is

applicable

Clerk of each municipality within the regional school unit to forward names and addresses of directors elected for that municipality to the State Board of Education

Designing/Electing New Regional Boards Weighted Voting Design (most common among current SADs)

Each municipality elects one or more directors Directors assigned voting weights based on population 1,000 votes apportioned among board members Reapportionment occurs at the Regional School Unit

level

Reapportionment process DOE Commissioner, RSU directors or citizen petition

• Necessary to ensure “one-person, one-vote” standard• Committee members – municipal, school and citizen• DOE Commissioner has final say on plan

Designing/Electing New Regional Boards Subdistrict Design (not common among current SADs)

Use of a reapportionment committee to determine subdistricts within each municipality or among multiple municipalities – provide a separate polling place

Within 45-60 days after approval of subdistricts, municipal officials to call special election

Nomination papers furnished by the regional school unit, 10 days before deadline for filing nomination papers

• 25 to 50 signatures of register voters in district Directors elected by secret ballot Regional school units to prepare/provide ballots to the clerks Clerks of each municipality shall forward election results to

the regional school unit• Regional unit to inform clerks of the regional results

Designing/Electing New Regional Boards At-Large Design (least common among current SADs)

Directors elected by all the voters in the regional school unit (RSU)

Nominations for directors must be made on petitions furnished by the RSU

Petitions must be signed according to Title 30-A, section 2528 (4) process

• 20% votes in municipalities w/populations under 200 Petition submitted to registrar of voters for verification and

returned to RSU within 30 days of election Ballots prepared and distributed by RSU Secret ballot election Clerks must impound election results, if the member

municipalities do not hold elections on same day

Designing/Electing New Regional Boards

Other Election Process Regional school unit authorized to use a method other

than subdistricts, weighted votes or at-large election, provided that it meets the requirement of the one-person, one-vote principle

School Budget Process

Budget Adoption Process Two step process

• Open Meeting - cost center summary budget adopted by the legislative body of the regional school unit (RSU)

• Vote of the RSU legislative body validated through referendum held in each community in the RSU

School Budget Process Open Meeting for School Budget

(Note: SADs that currently directly adopt budget by referendum will now have to have an open meeting first.)

At least 7 days before regional school unit (RSU) budget meeting, RSU board make a detailed budget document available to public

Moderator of the budget meeting to require the clerk or secretary of the RSU board to make a checklist of registered voters present at meeting

If budget exceeds the LD 1 spending limit, the vote must be conducted by written ballot

School Budget Process Budget Validation Procedures

Referendum held no more than 10 days after the budget meeting, where the budget was adopted by the regional school unit’s (RSU) legislative body

RSU board shall provide printed information, to be displayed at the polling place, to assist voters

• Information is limited to total amounts proposed by the RSU for expenditure and revenue cost centers, amount approved at budget meeting, summary of authorized expenditures, and if applicable, amount of spending over EPS limit

• Where to display information?• Can the too high/too low quested be added?

Three year question to continue budget validation process

School Budget Process

Budget Validation Referendum

Warrant and absentee ballots delivered to the municipal clerk at least 7 days before the date of the open regional school unit (RSU) budget meeting

Absentee ballots may not be processed unless received by the municipal clerk after the conclusion of the budgeting meeting and before the close of the polls

• All ballots received before budget meeting must be marked “rejected”

School Budget Process

Budget Validation Wording

School budget does not exceed EPS limit

• Do you favor approving the (name of regional school unit) budget for the upcoming school year that was adopted at the latest regional school unit budget meeting?

School Budget Process Budgeting Validation Wording

School budget does exceed EPS limit

• Do you favor approving the (name of regional school unit) budget for the upcoming school year that was adopted at the latest regional school unit budget meeting and that includes locally raised funds that exceed the required local contribution as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act?

• A Yes vote allows additional funds to be raised for K-12 public education

• A No vote means additional funds cannot be raised for K-12 public education

School Budget Process Failure to validate budget

Regional school unit (RSU) board holds another RSU budget meeting at least 10 days after referendum. Budget approved at the meeting must be validated by referendum

Process continues until a budget is both approved at the budget meeting and validated through referendum

In order for the school to operate, if the budget is not adopted by July 1, the latest budget submitted by the RSU board is considered the budget for the ensuring year, until a final budget is approved

For More Information Please check MMA’s website

http://www.memun.org/public/news/school/index.htm

• Law• Chat rooms/”threads” on reorganization topics• SFR articles/fact sheets on process• Articles• And much more…