MDI RPC Reorganization Plan

[DRAFT]

Mount Desert Island Regional School System (MDI RSS)

Plan to reorganize as an Alternative Organizational Structure

School Administrative Units (SAUs) submitting: Bar Harbor School Department, Mount Desert School Department, Southwest Harbor School Department, Tremont School Department, CSD #7 (Mount Desert Island High School), SAD #76 (Swans Island School), Cranberry Isles School Department, Frenchboro School Department, Trenton School Department (Verify legal names?)

Contact information: Gail Marshall (RPC Chair) 244-7219, Robert Liebow (School Union 98 Superintendent) 288-5011 ext. 323

Date submitted by SAUs: August 26, 2008

Proposed operational date of the MDI RSS: July 1, 2009

1. The units of school administration to be included in the proposed MDI RSS.

Bar Harbor School Department

Mount Desert School Department

Southwest Harbor School Department

Tremont School Department

Frenchboro School Department

SAD 76 (Swan’s Island School)

CSD 7 (Mount Desert Island High School)

Cranberry Isles School Department

Trenton School Department

2. The size, composition and apportionment of the governing body.

The Mount Desert Island Regional School System shall be governed by a Joint Board appointed by and from representatives of the school committees or school boards of each Member School unit as follows:

Member School Unit Number of Representatives

Bar Harbor 4

Mt. Desert 3

Southwest Harbor 3

Tremont 3

Trenton 3

Swan’s Island 1

Frenchboro 1

Cranberry Isles 1

(Add note here on how board proportion is developed and altered? Reference the ‘5% limit’ used in this spreadsheet)

3. The method of voting of the governing body.

Each MDI RSS board member has an equal vote.

4. The composition, powers and duties of local school committees or AOS board

The composition, powers and duties of the member SAU’s shall remain unchanged except as specifically modified through the [attached] inter-local agreement or elsewhere in this plan.

5. The disposition of real and personal school property.

All Union 98 property will be transferred to the Mount Desert Island Regional School System (MDI RSS). (Note: Union 98 holds no real property at this time)

6. The disposition of existing school indebtedness and lease-purchase obligations if the parties elect not to use the provisions of Section 1506 regarding the disposition of debt obligations.

All Union 98 indebtedness and lease-purchase obligations will be transferred to the MDI RSS.

7. The assignment of school personnel contracts, school collective bargaining agreements and other school contractual obligations.

All Union 98 personnel contracts and other contractual obligations will be transferred to the MDI RSS. (Note: Union 98 has no collective bargaining agreements).

8. The disposition of existing school funds and existing financial obligations, including undesignated fund balances, trust funds, reserve funds and other funds appropriated for school purposes.

All existing school funds and financial obligations of Union 98, including undesignated fund balances, trust funds, reserve funds and other funds appropriated for school purposes will be transferred to the MDI RSS.

9. A transition plan that addresses the development of a budget for the first school year of the reorganized unit and interim personnel policies.

The MDI RSS board shall be appointed by December 1, 2008 and will develop the budget for the MDI RSS 2009-2010 school year. Present Union 98 personnel policies shall serve as the interim policies for the MDI RSS.

(Note: See concern in 7/16 cover note to RAS)

10. Documentation of the public meeting or public meetings held to prepare or review the reorganization plan.

All RPC meetings are public and at each meeting the public is allowed to comment. All meetings are podcast. Podcasts, agendas, minutes and related documents are posted on the MDI RPC web site. Prior to referendum public forums shall be held in each town to review the reorganization plan.

11. An explanation of how units that approve the reorganization plan will proceed if one or more of the proposed members of the regional school unit fail to approve the plan.

If the plan is rejected by a majority of the voters in any of the following municipalities: Mount Desert, Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor, or Tremont, the MDI RSS shall not be formed under this plan and the SAUs shall re-start the process to form an AOS with the same or other SAUs. Rejection of this plan by any of the following municipalities: Swan’s Island, Cranberry Isles, Frenchboro, or Trenton shall not prevent formation of the new MDI RSS.

12. An estimate of the cost savings to be achieved by the formation of a regional school unit and how these savings will be achieved.

Although we anticipate the need to hire some additional staff in the central office, with the addition of Trenton to the MDI RSS we project some marginal savings due to efficiencies of scale.

13. Other matters determined to be necessary.

13-A. Union 92 Assets and liabilities:

The Trenton School Department will independently retain any and all assets and liabilities related to its prior association with School Union 92.

13-B. Tuition Contracts and School Choice

1. Tuition Contracts

(QUESTION: This was in the original plan. All tuition contracts are with CSD 7 and CSD 7 is not affected by this reorganization plan. Can we delete this section?)

The following tuition contracts are in existence as of the date of this plan between the governing bodies of the SAUs listed below and MDI High School for students in grades 9-12. All contracts are in effect as 7-1-05 and expire on 6-30-2010:

1. Hancock School Committee

2. MSAD 26 School Board

3. Lamoine School Committee

4. Surry School Committee

5. Trenton School Committee

6. Otis/Mariaville School Committee

Each of the above tuition contracts will be maintained by the Mount Desert Island Regional School District unless terminated prior to the operational date.

2. School Choice

Within only SAD 76, Cranberry Isles School Department, Frenchboro School Department and the Trenton School Department, students in grades 9-12 may choose to attend any secondary school approved by the state for tuition purposes. In such instances, the respective SAU pays up to the maximum state-allowable tuition for each student.

Grade levels in the existing SAUs that have choice of schools as of the operational date shall continue to have the same choices in the MDIRSS.

13-C. Claims and Insurance

Continuity of claims and insurance shall be ensured with the assistance of counsel.

13-D. Fewer than 2,500 students

As approved by Letter of Intent, the proposed AOS will serve fewer than 2500 students and qualifies for an exemption to that requirement for the following reasons:

(a) The special conditions of island geography limit the practical boundaries for regionalization.

(b) Demographics, including student enrollment trends and the composition and nature of communities in the regional school unit;

(c) Economics, including existing collaborations to be preserved or enhanced and opportunities to deliver commodities and services to be maximized;

(d) Transportation;

(e) Population density of less than 100 per square mile; and/or

(f) Other unique circumstances including the need to preserve existing or developing relationships, meet the needs of students, maximize educational opportunities for students and ensure equitable access to rigorous programs for all students.

13-E. Plan to achieve consistent collective bargaining agreements

Mount Desert Island Regional School System’s plan to achieve consistent collective bargaining agreements (7/24 draft):

Current background and context:

There are presently two types of collective bargaining agreements in place within the schools that are planning to form the Mount Desert Island Regional School System AOS.

The first type of agreement covers the support staff in the town of Bar Harbor. The employment of all support staff personnel in the other schools is not presently covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

The second type of collective bargaining agreements covers the teachers in all of the schools in the proposed new AOS except the off-shore islands of Swan’s, Cranberry Isles and Frenchboro. At present, one agreement is in place just for the teachers at the Trenton Elementary School. A second agreement is in place and operates as a series of common contracts that cover the elementary schools in Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor, Tremont, Mount Desert as well as the Mount Desert Island Regional High School. These common contracts contain identical language and identical salary scales and are negotiated at one time around one negotiating table by mutual agreement of all parties.

Swan’s Island and Cranberry Isles schools, even though they have no formal collective bargaining agreement, have for several years followed the contract language and salary scale of the five main-island schools listed above. The Frenchboro School due to its extremely limited tax base has not mirrored the salary scale of the main island schools.

Regional School System plan to achieve consistent bargaining agreements:

The plan to achieve consistent collective bargaining agreements for all teachers in the proposed new Mount Desert Island School System AOS is as follows:

Year 1: 2008-2009 School Year (Last year of present school organization)

---The five main-island schools will complete year three of their present three-year contract-in-common and begin to negotiate a new three-year contract-in-common to begin during the 2009-2010 school year

---Schools on Swan’s Island and the Cranberry Isles will continue to mirror the terms and salary scales as outlined in the main island contract-in-common by mutual agreement

---The Trenton School will be completing year one of a new previously negotiated three-year contract with their teachers

Year 2: 2009-2010 School Year (First year of new AOS)

---The five main-island schools will complete year one of a new three-year contract-in-common.

--- Schools on Swan’s Island and the Cranberry Isles will continue to mirror the terms and salary scales as outlined in the contract-in-common by mutual agreement.

---The Trenton School will complete year two of their three-year contract and will agree to open that contract to negotiate the adoption of the non-salary language from the contract-in-common in place for the five main-island schools to be in effect during the 2010-2011 school year.

---The Frenchboro School will continue to pay their teachers independently of the other schools as per prior agreement with the Commissioner of Education due to their exemption by law as an off-shore island but will adopt the other terms of the contract-in-common of the five main-island schools

Year 3: 2010-2011 School Year (second year of new AOS)

---The five main-island schools will complete year two of the new three-year contract-in-common.

---The Trenton School will complete year three of their three-year contract and will begin negotiations for a one-year contract to cover the 2011-2012 school year containing the same language and including the adoption of the salary lane structure of the contract-in-common in place at the five main-island schools.

---Schools on Swan’s Island and the Cranberry Isles will continue to mirror the terms and salary scales as outlined in the contract-in-common by mutual agreement.

Year 4: 2011-2012 School Year (third year of new AOS)

---The five main-island schools will complete year three of the new three-year contract-in-common.

---The Trenton School will complete their new one-year contract.

---The five main-island schools and the Trenton School will all join together to begin the process of negotiating a new three-year contract-in-common to cover all six schools to begin during the 2012-2013 school year.

---Swan’s Island and the Cranberry Isles will continue to mirror the terms and salary scales as outlined in the contract-in-common by mutual agreement.

Year 5: 2012-2013 School Year (Fourth year of new AOS)

---The five main-island schools and the Trenton School will begin year one of a new three-year contract-in-common. All language will be similar but the Trenton school will begin a three-year phase-in process of adopting full compliance with the salary scale

---Swan’s Island and the Cranberry Isles will continue to mirror the terms and salary scales as outlined in the contract-in-common by mutual agreement.

Year 6: 2013-2014 School Year (Fifth year of new AOS)

---The five main-island schools and the Trenton school will complete year two of the new three-year contract-in-common. The Trenton School will complete the second year of a three-year phase in process to full compliance with the salary scale.

---Swan’s Island and the Cranberry Isles will continue to mirror the terms and salary scales as outlined in the contract-in-common by mutual agreement.

Year 7: 2014-2015 School Year (Sixth year of new AOS)

---The five main-island schools and the Trenton school will complete year three of the new three-year contract-in-common. The Trenton School will complete the final year of the three-year phase in process and will now be in full compliance with the salary scale and all the other terms of the contract-in-common.

---Swan’s Island and the Cranberry Isles will continue to mirror the terms and salary scales as outlined in the contract-in-common by mutual agreement.