By Emma Bouthillette 

Staff Writer

After 14 months of discussion and negotiation, the Regional Planning Committee for Regional School Unit 57 submitted a consolidation proposal for the towns of Arundel, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport to Maine’s Department of Education. 

The proposal, developed by 15 committee members from the three towns, was based on guidelines established at the first meeting: all decisions would provide the best benefit to students’ education and in fairness to all three communities, including the decision to create a near neutral cost shift above Essential Programs and Services costs and respecting the sensitivity to Kennebunkport and Arundel, which have only one elementary school within their boundaries.

The Regional School Unit Board will consist of three members from Arundel, three members from Kennebunkport and six members from Kennebunk. The state required the configuration to be determined by population of each town, with each town electing their respective board members. Besides the nine-member board, accountability committees will be formed for each school in the Regional School Unit to provide regular reports to the board.

The cost sharing formula for expenditures above Essential Programs and Services is to be based on 60 percent property valuation and 40 percent pupil count. The formula means Arundel will be responsible for 13.8 percent, Kennebunk for 56.2 percent and Kennebunkport for 30 percent of any costs to operate the school district above the minimum required by the state. Arundel will remain responsible for $18,000 in debt accrued as an independent district and Kennebunk and Kennebunkport will share responsibility for SAD 71’s $599,620 debt.

Other stipulations included in the proposal for consolidation are Arundel students will retain a choice of high schools and all contracts with individual schools will be honored when the Regional School Unit is established. The committee has also included guidelines for potential school closures, so if the Regional School Unit Board votes by a two-thirds “super” majority to close a school, the school’s town will also vote on the school closure. If the town votes to keep the school open, the town will incur the cost of maintaining the school and  funding above Essential Programs and Services will be reevaluated. 

Regional Planning Committee Co-Chairman Maureen King said if one town were to vote the consolidation proposal down, the committee would reconvene, investigate what residents did not like and resubmit a plan to Maine’s Department of Education for a second vote in January 2009. 

Ultimately, King said if the proposal is not approved, penalties to the towns could be applied starting July 1, 2009. These penalties include a 50 percent decrease in allocations for system administration funding from the state, and a 2 percent reduction in subsidiary funds from the state, which would mean a total loss of $120,000 for Arundel and $637,000 for Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, Department of Education Director of Communications David Connerty-Marin said. 

He said because of the decrease in subsidiary funds, the towns would be required to allocate more funds through an increase in mil rate by 2 percent, which could continue to increase in following years based on the town property valuation. For a comparison, King said if the penalties were applied this year it would increase the mil rate to $6.68 per thousand of valuation rather than the current $6.55 mil rate.

“Consider carefully the long range impacts this vote will have. If we vote this plan down, the penalties will continue to hurt us,” King said. 

As of press time, Connerty-Marin said the Department of Education was waiting on revisions from the Regional Planning Committee before approving the plan. King said the committee is confident the plan will be on the Nov. 4 ballot for residents to cast their votes, and residents will have an opportunity to discuss the proposal at a public hearing for Arundel, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport scheduled at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at Kennebunk Elementary School.