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BY SCOTT MONROE
Staff Writer 08/28/2008

School Administrative District 53 is in a league of its own in Maine: It faces a $175,000 penalty from the state government, even though voters approved a school-consolidation plan required by law.

Although SAD 53 endorsed the plan, voters in SAD 59 rejected the measure by 31 votes on June 10. That's been the only failed public vote in Maine so far on school-merger proposals.

Officials from SAD 53, which serves schools in Pittsfield, Burnham and Detroit, thought the district would be immune to a hefty penalty because its voters tried to comply with the law. But state officials now say SAD 53 will penalized if it does not partner with another district by Jan. 30, 2009.

"This is a unique situation," said David Connerty-Marin, director of communications for the Department of Education. "This is the first where voters have actually done the right thing, if you will, and yet they've been left at the altar."

Under state law, SAD 53 would be penalized $175,000 in fiscal year 2010 and $180,000 in fiscal year 2011 if it does not reorganize.

SAD 53 officials have decided to appeal the opinion, from the Attorney General's Office on July 24, that the district will be penalized even though it approved a consolidation proposal. SAD 53 has hired the law firm Drummond Woodsum & MacMahon, of Portland, to write another legal opinion about compliance with state law, said Michael Gallagher, superintendent of schools.

"This leaves us without a partner and (the SAD 53 board) not feeling as though they can reach out to anyone else," Gallagher said. "SAD 53 is looking at gaining a legal opinion about whether or not a good case can be made."

The Department of Education would prefer that SAD 53 continue searching for a school-district partner in the coming months, Connerty-Marin said.

"The way the law is written, there simply is no provision right now that allows SAD 53 to be in compliance with the law," Connerty-Marin said. "I don't think the law envisioned a community, if reorganization didn't work out, that would not continue to try to find other partners or even the same partner."

Even so, Education Commissioner Susan A. Gendron "is sympathetic to their situation. Part of what she has to do in January is report to the Legislature on the status of reorganization," he said.

Maine's school-consolidation law, passed in 2007, requires districts to form regional school units, aiming to reduce the state's districts from 290 to 80. The idea is to reduce administrative costs and to save taxpayer money.

SAD 53 initially looked at three separate plans to meet the state's requirements for consolidation. One idea was joining forces with SAD 48, which includes Newport, Hartland, St. Albans, Corinna, Palmyra and Plymouth. SAD 48 and SAD 38, which serves Dixmont and Etna, will hold a consolidation vote at the Nov. 4 election. At least a dozen more consolidation plans across the state are scheduled to be decided in November, too.

The latest idea that's panned out for SAD 53 is merging with SAD 59, which includes Madison, Athens, Starks and Brighton Plantation.

Gallagher, who also serves as superintendent of SAD 59 and works there a couple days a week, said SAD 53 is now surrounded by larger school districts and doesn't have any other apparent options.

"We don't want to jump into trying to consolidate with another entity without doing some good research with who our partner should be," Gallagher said. "The timing is difficult."

Scott Monroe, 487-3288, 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com

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