FREEPORT SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION
AN INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION?
On June 6, 2007, the Maine State Legislature passed school reorganization legislation (Part XXXX of Public Law 2007, Chapter 240). This legislation requires school districts of all sizes in the state of Maine to consolidate with other districts. The goal of this legislation is to create larger districts (Regional School Units, RSUs) that can share administrative and other infrastructure to cut the costs of delivering education to the region's children. While restricted to achieving only administrative efficiencies in the first year, a consolidated district (RSU) ultimately will operate as one school district. There will be a single school board, a single superintendent's office, and the member towns/districts will be represented in ongoing decisions by elected board members. The RSU board will be empowered to make whatever ongoing management decisions it deems required to best serve the member communities (e.g. building new schools, closing existing schools, negotiating contracts, transportation, curriculum development, etc.). The law requires towns to evaluate consolidation options and build and refine a consolidation plan which is then approved by the state. Once approved, the consolidation plan is submitted for a "yes or no" vote to the communities involved in the consolidation. If the communities do not approve and implement a state sanctioned plan before school fiscal year 2009/2010, the state is authorized under the law to withhold state contribution to local school budgets. Certain districts are exempt from consolidation because of practical reasons (island communities, etc), or because they are deemed "high performing/high efficiency" districts. The law also defines a "doughnut hole" status for communities who cannot create successful consolidation plans with their neighbors.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT… Maine's School Consolidation law, Freeport Families for Education, or to participate in our ongoing email dialog on the topic, please visit
WWW.FREEPORTFAMILIES.ORG
also has a complete K - 12 school system with school buildings, administration, and full teaching staff. This also differentiates Freeport from other communities involved in this process who utilize neighboring town facilities to provide education for their kids.
WHAT ARE FREEPORT'S CONSOLIDATION OPTIONS?
Over last summer, a team of people from Freeport including residents, elected officials, and school administration considered the options available for Freeport's consolidation. This group discussed potential partners including Brunswick, Durham, Pownal, and Yarmouth. As this process wound down, Brunswick indicated it wasn't interested in proceeding. Yarmouth submitted a "letter of intent" to the state Department of Education (DoE) that included three options, one of which was a Freeport/Pownal/Yarmouth option. Pownal and Freeport work closely together already, so Pownal seemed like a natural partner. Freeport submitted a letter of intent with one option: Durham/Freeport/Pownal. The letter left the door open for a Freeport/Pownal/Yarmouth option as well. The school committee later submitted a letter of clarification to the state indicating that Freeport/Pownal/Yarmouth would be actively discussed. The options available to Freeport are (in no particular order): • • • • Durham/Freeport/Pownal Freeport/Pownal/Yarmouth Freeport/Pownal - "doughnut hole" Freeport - stand alone
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT FREEPORT?
Under the consolidation law, Freeport is required to engage its neighboring communities in a planning process to see if a consolidated district can be created. Freeport currently receives about 12% of it's school budget from the state, so the penalties from the state are not as dramatic for Freeport as they are for other communities who may receive up to 60 - 70% of their school budget from the state. Freeport
WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE FREEPORT/POWNAL/YARMOUTH CONSOLIDATION DISCUSSION?
Freeport and Yarmouth committees have met twice to discuss possible consolidation configurations. Progress on this front has been delayed because Yarmouth only recently received official communication that they qualify for exemption from the consolidation law due to their "high performing/high efficiency" status. The issues being discussed on this front are: • Yarmouth currently spends significantly more on its school system than does Freeport. Thus a consolidation between Freeport and Yarmouth would involve additional leveling-up expenses for Freeport.
• Yarmouth is concerned that Freeport will not want to spend on education and will vote down increases in school spending for new programs. • There is some question as to the amount of actual administrative savings that would result from such a merger. • The towns are compatible on relevant economic/demographic indicators - property valuation, number of students, etc
Yarmouth representatives have indicated that they will be recommending that Yarmouth take advantage of their exemption from the process. They are scheduling a town meeting to discuss this with Yarmouth town residents early in November. It is unlikely that this option will continue to be an option for Freeport at this time.
WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE DURHAM/FREEPORT/POWNAL CONSOLIDATION DISCUSSION?
Durham, Freeport, and Pownal have formed an official Reorganization Planning Committee which is tasked with creating a plan for consolidation of the three districts. They have set for themselves the following schedule: • December 1, 2007 - Submit a complete reorganization plan to the state • Jan '08 - June '08 - Complete local referendum votes to authorize the consolidation • July '08 - Implement consolidation This schedule is accelerated from that required by the consolidation law which states consolidation must happen before July '09. The RPC has divided into three subcommittees to address issues of Governance, Finances, and Contracts/Other. Each subcommittee has a punch list of required plan elements that they are responsible for contributing to the plan to be submitted December 1. This Durham/Freeport/Pownal consolidation configuration leads to a few key issues of fairness that impact Freeport: • School Choice Vouchers - Pownal and Durham both have a right under state law to "school choice." This law allows parents in those communities to remove their student from the town provided school system and send them to another district or even to a private school. Under this program, parents can receive up to $7,800 per year per child of school budget funds to send their kids to a different district. If Durham and Pownal do not surrender their right to school choice before a consolidated district is formed, the consolidation law specifies that they will continue to have school choice after consolidation. Freeport does not have school choice currently and cannot be given that right as part of consolidation. • Local share cost allocation - The current consolidation law specifies that the "local share" of the school budget (the amount not paid by the state) will be shared among the communities based on property valuation. Therefore, because of the disparity in property valuation, Freeport will pay more than 75% of the local share costs even though Freeport students make up only 60% of the student body.
• Asset contribution - The towns each bring some hard-assets to the table (e.g. schools, buildings, land, vehicles, etc). In Freeport's case, these assets were purchased largely with taxpayer dollars because Freeport is minimally subsidized by the state. According to recent RPC documents, Freeport brings $41,131,462 of assets to the table, Pownal brings about $2,179,606, and Durham brings about $4,341,152. This imbalance also must be worked out in an equitable fashion.
WHAT IS FREEPORT FAMILIES FOR EDUCATION AND HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
Freeport Families for Education (FFE) is a grassroots organization comprising local individuals and families who are committed to improving the quality of education for the children of Freeport, Maine. We work to keep our community informed about important issues in education and to encourage public involvement in decisions affecting Freeport’s children. FFE was established in 2007 in response to state legislation mandating school district consolidation in Maine. By maintaining an active grassroots presence in this process, we aim to educate the public and ensure that Freeport will make the best possible decisions in its consolidation efforts. We are united by the concern that Freeport is taking a fast-track approach to a process that requires much more careful deliberation. The current Durham/Freeport/Pownal Regional Planning Committee has committed to working towards a July '08 consolidation implementation -- a full year in advance of the date required by law. Please join us in insisting on slow deliberation and a complete analysis of ALL available options in order to ensure that Freeport's reaction to the consolidation mandate is responsible to the future students in Freeport's education system.
WHAT IS A "DOUGHNUT HOLE" AND HOW DOES IT APPLY TO FREEPORT?
The state considers a community (or communities) a "doughnut hole" if they have exercised all due diligence in looking for compatible partners and have been rejected by possible partners. This clause of the law may pertain to Freeport if Durham decides to terminate discussions of consolidation. If this happens, Freeport and Pownal can complete consolidation, and submit that they are effectively a doughnut hole because Durham has decided not to pursue consolidation with them. Under the doughnut hole provision, the town(s) in question would retain all state subsidies and wouldn't be penalized. Of course, there would be ongoing pressures to consolidate down the road, but in the meantime Freeport/Pownal could continue to operate a smaller consolidated district.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT… Maine's School Consolidation law, Freeport Families for Education, or to participate in our ongoing email dialog on the topic, please visit
CAN FREEPORT STAND ALONE?
Freeport cannot choose to stand alone as an option presently. Only by rejecting the consolidation plan in a town referendum does a town “choose” to stand alone. However, a town that votes against consolidation in one referendum can develop another consolidation plan and hold another referendum. The town can avoid penalties if it approves reorganization by referendum no later than the November 4, 2008 election and is operational as a regional unit by July 1, 2009. Penalties for towns that don’t form appropriate regional units by the July 1, 2009 include: 1. A 50% reduction in minimum subsidy (the special education minimum); 2. A further 50% reduction in system administration funds; 3. Less favorable consideration in approval and funding for school construction; and 4. Loss of eligibility for transition adjustments. 5. A forced higher local contribution towards education (mill rate)
WWW.FREEPORTFAMILIES.ORG
NOTES:
This document was last revised on October 23, 2007. The data presented was compiled from documents handed out at Durham/Freeport/Pownal RPC meeting and the 2006 Cape Elizabeth benchmark report. These numbers are subject to change as the RPC process moves forward and negotiations among the towns proceed.
DESIGN DONATED BY MARK SHAIN · WWW.VIRTUAL-DESIGN.WS