Transcript Maine Municipal Association

Maine Municipal
Association
School Reorganization
The Municipal Clerk’s
Responsibilities
October 4, 2007
School Reorganization Law
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Enacted as Part XXXX of budget (LD 499)
• Establishment of Regional School Units (RSU’s)
• Goal to serve 2,500 students
• Provides for a 1,200 student exception
• Geography, demographics, economics,
transportation, population and other
• Coastal island and tribal schools exempt
• Provides for the creation of Reorganization
Planning Committees
Reorganization Planning
Committees
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Submit plans by December 1 to
Department of Education for consolidation
into a Regional School District
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School units included
Size, composition, apportionment of governing body
Method of voting for governing body
Powers/duties of local boards created
Disposition existing debt/lease-purchase obligations
Assignment of school personnel contracts
Development of budget
Identification of savings
Other
Three clerk-related areas of
school reorganization law
Reorganization Referendum
 Design & Election of Regional Boards
 School Budget Process
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• Open meeting for school budget
• Budget validation referendum
Reorganization Referendum
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Dates
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January 15, 2008
• Absentee ballot issues
• December 1, 2007 plan submitted to DOE
• December 15, 2007 DOE action
• When would the actual plan be available for
absentee voters
June 10, 2008
 November 4, 2008
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Reorganization Referendum
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Article: Do you favor approving the
school regionalization plan prepared
by the (insert name) Reorganization
Planning Committee to reorganize
(insert names of affected school
administrative units) into a regional
school unit with an effective date of
(insert date)?
Reorganization Referendum
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Article Statement
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Law requires that a statement of
consequence be printed on the ballot
with the question
However, the law provides for two
different statements
Reorganization Referendum
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Statement - 1
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20-A, §1461, sub§5
A “YES” vote means that you approve of the
(municipality or school administrative unit)
joining the proposed regional school unit. The
financial penalties under the Maine Revised
Statutes, Title 20-A, section 15696 to the
existing school administrative units will no
longer apply to the proposed regional school
unit.
Reorganization Referendum
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Statement - 2
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Found in unallocated section of law
A “YES” votes means that you approve of the (municipality
or school administrative unit) joining the proposed regional
school unit, which will be provided with the following
incentives:
• More favorable consideration in approval and funding of
school construction projects; and
• Eligibility for additional financial support for
reorganizations costs.
Reorganization Referendum
… Statement 2, Continued
 A “NO” vote means that you do not approve of the
(municipality or school administrative unit) joining the
proposed regional school unit, which will result in the
existing (municipality or school administrative unit)
receiving the following penalties:
• Less favorable consideration in approval and funding of
school construction projects; and
• A reduction in state funding of education costs in an
amount estimated to be $ ___ for school year 200_ and $
___ for school year 200_, with the possibility of ongoing
penalties for continued failure to join an approved regional
school unit. Reduction in state education funding will
likely result in an increased mill rate expectation to meet
the local share of education costs.
Reorganization Referendum
 Statement
Wording Difference
 Legal Issues
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Which statement to use?
Can supplementary financial
information in addition to the penalty
impacts be included on the ballot?
Reorganization Referendum
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In future years
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School systems may join existing
regional school unit
Regional school unit to approve SAU
joining the regional school unit
• Article mirrors the wording found in the law,
which includes the use of the less negative
consequence statement
Designing/Electing New Regional
Boards
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Election of Officials – 4 Methods
• Weighted Votes - 20-A, §1472(2) & §1473(2-B)
• Subdistrict - 20-A, §1472(1) & §1473(2-A)
• At-large - 20-A, §1472(3) & §1473(2-C)
• Other - 20-A, §1472(4)
Designing/Electing New Regional
Boards
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School board election, generally
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For the purpose of nominations, regional school unit
board directors are considered municipal officials and
must be nominated in accordance with Title 30-A,
chapter 121 or with a municipal charter, whichever is
applicable
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Clerk of each municipality within the regional school
unit to forward names and addresses of directors
elected for that municipality to the State Board of
Education
Designing/Electing New Regional
Boards
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Weighted Voting Design (most common among current SADs)
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Each municipality elects one or more directors
Directors assigned voting weights based on population
1,000 votes apportioned among board members
Reapportionment occurs at the Regional School Unit
level
Reapportionment process
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DOE Commissioner, RSU directors or citizen petition
• Necessary to ensure “one-person, one-vote” standard
• Committee members – municipal, school and citizen
• DOE Commissioner has final say on plan
Designing/Electing New Regional
Boards
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Subdistrict Design (not common among current SADs)
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Use of a reapportionment committee to determine
subdistricts within each municipality or among multiple
municipalities – provide a separate polling place
Within 45-60 days after approval of subdistricts, municipal
officials to call special election
Nomination papers furnished by the regional school unit,
10 days before deadline for filing nomination papers
• 25 to 50 signatures of register voters in district
Directors elected by secret ballot
Regional school units to prepare/provide ballots to the
clerks
Clerks of each municipality shall forward election results to
the regional school unit
• Regional unit to inform clerks of the regional results
Designing/Electing New Regional
Boards
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At-Large Design (least common among current SADs)
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Directors elected by all the voters in the regional school
unit (RSU)
Nominations for directors must be made on petitions
furnished by the RSU
Petitions must be signed according to Title 30-A, section
2528 (4) process
• 20% votes in municipalities w/populations under 200
Petition submitted to registrar of voters for verification and
returned to RSU within 30 days of election
Ballots prepared and distributed by RSU
Secret ballot election
Clerks must impound election results, if the member
municipalities do not hold elections on same day
Designing/Electing New Regional
Boards
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Other Election Process
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Regional school unit authorized to use a method other
than subdistricts, weighted votes or at-large election,
provided that it meets the requirement of the oneperson, one-vote principle
School Budget Process
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Budget Adoption Process
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Two step process
• Open Meeting - cost center summary
budget adopted by the legislative body of
the regional school unit (RSU)
• Vote of the RSU legislative body validated
through referendum held in each
community in the RSU
School Budget Process
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Open Meeting for School Budget
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(Note: SADs that currently directly adopt budget by
referendum will now have to have an open meeting first.)
At least 7 days before regional school unit (RSU) budget
meeting, RSU board make a detailed budget document
available to public
Moderator of the budget meeting to require the clerk or
secretary of the RSU board to make a checklist of registered
voters present at meeting
If budget exceeds the LD 1 spending limit, the vote must be
conducted by written ballot
School Budget Process
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Budget Validation Procedures
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Referendum held no more than 10 days after the
budget meeting, where the budget was adopted by the
regional school unit’s (RSU) legislative body
RSU board shall provide printed information, to be
displayed at the polling place, to assist voters
• Information is limited to total amounts proposed by the
RSU for expenditure and revenue cost centers, amount
approved at budget meeting, summary of authorized
expenditures, and if applicable, amount of spending over
EPS limit
• Where to display information?
• Can the too high/too low quested be added?
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Three year question to continue budget validation
process
School Budget Process
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Budget Validation Referendum
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Warrant and absentee ballots delivered to the municipal
clerk at least 7 days before the date of the open
regional school unit (RSU) budget meeting
Absentee ballots may not be processed unless received
by the municipal clerk after the conclusion of the
budgeting meeting and before the close of the polls
• All ballots received before budget meeting must be
marked “rejected”
School Budget Process
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Budget Validation Wording
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School budget does not exceed EPS limit
• Do you favor approving the (name of regional school unit)
budget for the upcoming school year that was adopted at
the latest regional school unit budget meeting?
School Budget Process
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Budgeting Validation Wording
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School budget does exceed EPS limit
• Do you favor approving the (name of regional school unit)
budget for the upcoming school year that was adopted at
the latest regional school unit budget meeting and that
includes locally raised funds that exceed the required local
contribution as described in the Essential Programs and
Services Funding Act?
• A Yes vote allows additional funds to be raised for K-12 public
education
• A No vote means additional funds cannot be raised for K-12 public
education
School Budget Process
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Failure to validate budget
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Regional school unit (RSU) board holds another RSU budget
meeting at least 10 days after referendum. Budget approved
at the meeting must be validated by referendum
Process continues until a budget is both approved at the
budget meeting and validated through referendum
In order for the school to operate, if the budget is not
adopted by July 1, the latest budget submitted by the RSU
board is considered the budget for the ensuring year, until a
final budget is approved
For More Information
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Please check MMA’s website
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http://www.memun.org/public/news/school/index.htm
• Law
• Chat rooms/”threads” on reorganization topics
• SFR articles/fact sheets on process
• Articles
• And much more…