January 2008 Dear Community, The School Consolidation issue has taken a recent turn and I want you to be aware of this emerging situation. The Consolidation Law requires that all school districts submit a plan for approval to the Maine Department of Education. These plans are organized into three categories: 1. Districts that reorganize with other school districts in order to meet the 2500 student enrollment requirement. 2. Districts that currently serve over 2500 students. These districts must submit an Alternative Plan. The Alternative plan must identify how the district will demonstrate cost savings in four areas: special education, transportation, building maintenance and central administration. 3. Districts that are below the 2500 student enrollment requirement but qualify for an exception under one of the following criteria: geography, demographics, economics, transportation, population density and 'other unique circumstances'. When York first began this journey, we believed we would not qualify under any of the exemptions; thus, we moved forward to develop a Reorganization Plan with Wells/Ogunquit. We filed our letter of intent to consider reorganization with these two communities in August and the State found York was in compliance with the requirements of the law. Therefore, we moved forward in our planning efforts with Wells/Ogunquit. We knew that a number of school systems throughout the state with fewer than 2500 students indicated in their letters of intent that they would be submitting an Alternative Plan and were then told that they would be in non-compliance with an Alternative Plan. We have recently learned, however, that some of these districts moved forward with the submittal of Alternative Plans and were subsequently told they could continue with their Alternative Plans.  This appears to be in conflict with the original intent of the law and the original decision of the Commissioner. This situation creates a question of consistency about how each school district was evaluated to determine eligibility for using the Alternative Plan option. Based on this information, the York School Committee has informed the Commissioner that it intends to submit an Alternative Plan for school consolidation and will remain an independent district serving less than 2500 students. The reason this decision is critical is because school districts that have approved Alternative Plans will not lose any State aid money. If a school district reorganizes, as in the original plan with York and Wells/Ogunquit, and the community rejects the plan, then the community would be penalized by losing half of its State aid money. In contrast, if the district presents an Alternative Plan that is accepted by the State, then there is no community vote and there is no risk of losing State money. Because we do not want to place the community in a situation where York may lose State aid money, the decision to submit an Alternative Plan, given the decision of the State in approving other Alternative Plans, is being pursued. This situation is certain to evolve during the next weeks and I will keep you informed as the state of affairs change. Dr. Henry R. Scipione Superintendent of Schools 207-363-3403 hscipione@yorkschools.org