LD 2280: An Act To Clarify and Improve the Laws Governing the Formation of Regional School Units

[Education Committee bill]

Summary

This bill is introduced by the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Public Law 2007, chapter 240, Part XXXX, section 47. The bill makes the following changes to clarify and improve the laws governing the formation of regional school units.

1. It provides that a kindergarten-to-grade-12 school administrative district that is reformulated as a regional school unit without dissolving the school administrative district may continue to use the same name and operate as the same legal entity; and it amends the definition of "school administrative unit" to clarify that community school districts and kindergarten-to-grade-8 school administrative districts that do not join a regional school unit may remain in operation after July 1, 2009. The current law reformulates all kindergarten-to-grade-12 school administrative districts as regional school units by July 1, 2009 but is silent on the ability of community school districts and kindergarten-to-grade-8 school administrative districts to remain operational after that date.

2. It changes the deadline by which a referendum must be held to January 30, 2009 and changes dates that are linked to the referendum date by the same amount of time. The current law governing the reorganization of school administrative units requires that a referendum must be held on a proposed reorganization on or before November 4, 2008.

3. It provides consistent language across the allocated and unallocated provisions in the law to clarify the budget referendum ballot question to be placed before the voters at a budget validation referendum vote.

4. It clarifies and amends the budget approval and validation process provisions to:

A. Increase the number of days from the legislative body meeting to the referendum validation from 10 days to 14 days;

B. Provide that absentee ballots may not be distributed until the day after the regional school unit budget meeting;

C. In the event that a regional school unit budget has not been approved and validated prior to the start of the fiscal year, authorize municipalities to levy taxes based on the most recent school budget approved at the regional school unit budget meeting until a budget is validated by voters; and

D. Eliminate the need for 2 separate ballot questions for the budget validation referendum vote and combine information on 2 votes into one document provided with the warrant for the referendum vote.

5. It clarifies the debt liability of the school administrative units that are members of a career and technical education region, including the disposition of debt incurred for a school construction or renovation project at a career and technical education region by the school administrative units that are members of the career and technical education region.

6. It clarifies the financial responsibility for the preservation of school choice in a new regional school unit when a member municipality continues to provide tuition for students to attend a school outside of the new regional school unit. The provision provides that the member municipality is responsible for providing appropriations for any additional expense above the sending regional school unit tuition rate for students who are educated outside of the regional school unit.

7. It clarifies the rights and obligations of regional school units concerning the reassignment of teachers and other employees of the regional school unit in the transitional period from the operational date of the regional school unit until the completion of negotiations for a regional school unit-wide collective bargaining agreement.

8. It replaces the so-called "53-86% penalty" for any school administrative unit that fails to approve a reorganization plan on or before January 30, 2009 and to implement that plan by July 1, 2009 with a penalty that provides that the school administrative unit's full-value education mill rate pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 15671-A is increased by 2% for the purpose of calculating the school administrative unit's required contribution to meet the local share of education costs established pursuant to Title 20-A, section 15688, subsection 3-A.

9. It directs the Department of Education to conduct a review of the results of referenda votes on proposed reorganization plans and the status of the reorganization of school administrative units as regional school units consistent with the July 1, 2009 implementation timeline. It also directs the department to develop recommendations related to the circumstances and criteria under which the Commissioner of Education could grant a waiver to a school administrative unit that has not complied with the implementation timelines, including any necessary flexibility that would provide the commissioner with the authority to adjust the timelines for complying with the law, to waive penalties or to approve an alternative plan submitted by a reorganization planning committee. It further directs the department to clarify what happens if voters of an individual school administrative unit fail to approve a reorganization plan that results in the school administrative unit's not meeting the implementation timeline for reorganization.

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Fiscal Note

Minor cost increase - General Fund