AOS 93 could be restructured into fewer school districts over the next two years, following a proposal by administration approved by each of its member towns’ school committees. Committees made a nonbinding vote at their regular meetings this month to authorize exploring changes with joint legal counsel from a Drummond Woodsum attorney.
The AOS has been in place for the towns of Bremen, Bristol, Damariscotta, Jefferson, Newcastle, Nobleboro, and South Bristol since 2009, when it replaced School Union 74. Under the structure, each of the towns is its own district but shares administrative services through the central office.
Administrators have said inefficiencies and redundancies in this system, both educational and financial, could be addressed through a restructuring that they hope to have in place by the fall of 2025.
Lynsey Johnston, superintendent, said nine of the 17 AOS districts in Maine created following a 2007 school district reorganization law have since dissolved or explored similar changes.
“It was the best option we had at the time, but it may not be the best option we have now,” she said.
According to Johnston, school closings or staff cuts are not being considered and local control will remain a priority. Converting to an RSU is not on the table either, she said.
However, specific plans or options have not been developed.
“There has been no work done until I know which towns want to do this,” Johnston said at several school committee meetings.
The administration’s proposal for the project, presented in early April, cites redundancies inherent in the AOS structure as a driver of the change.
According to the proposal, restructuring could increase educational benefits for students, decrease or stabilize town tax commitments, and streamline administrative operations.
The administration’s April presentation said the school system is growing and offers increasing special programs for student needs while facing a labor shortage, rising inflation, upcoming building repair needs, and the end of federal pandemic relief funding programs.
“We must act with urgency to resolve the burdens that threaten the successful achievement of our mission,” administrators said in materials proposing the project.
Projected benefits for education include additional offerings for prekindergarten, special education, gifted and talented, and extracurricular programs, along with a condensing of part-time positions to full-time ones to increase staff retention.
On the municipal side, administrators expect fewer districts to result in reduced per-pupil costs to taxpayers, larger class sizes, and off-setting long term costs for building replacement. Larger districts are also more competitive for state school construction funding.
Changes could include weighted interlocal agreements to give towns proportional roles in governing newly consolidated districts.
In operations, the project predicts principals and administrators will work more effectively with reduced reporting and grant management at central offices.
As presented, the project takes place in four phases over two years: gathering information and ideas from the public, vetting them through the consultant, and putting changes before voters, followed by implementation.
On this schedule, member towns would consider changes at the polls in November 2024 with restructuring implemented by the 2025-26 school year.
Bill Stockmeyer, an attorney at Portland-based Drummond Woodsum with experience in school restructuring, will represent all towns and help the AOS determine options.
Committees may drop out of the exploration or hire their own legal representation at any time, Johnston said.
Final plans would need approval from the Maine Department of Education and possibly the state legislature before coming to voters for referendum approval in each town.
According to the AOS 93 Business Manager Peter Nielsen, the entire process for all seven towns is estimated to cost $45,000.
The AOS may use its fund balance to cover costs from now until June 30, Johnston said, with towns taking on the final share. Future payments could be built into each town’s budget cycle or could continue to be paid from that unassigned fund balance if approved by the AOS 93 Board.
Votes were unanimous except for in Jefferson, Nobleboro, and the AOS 93 board, where one member each voted against the exploration.
Some school committee members questioned whether their schools would suffer from changes made to the AOS by other towns, even if they opted out. Continued access to special education programs housed at certain schools was a particular concern.
Members also said they thought the process could reduce local control for their towns.
Johnston said a reduction in control could happen if residents were to vote that way, but she would be “shocked” if they did.
“We may not make any changes,” she said to the Nobleboro School Committee. “We may not find something that makes this worth it, but I feel like if we don’t look or we don’t ask, how do we know if we can do better for our students, our towns or our AOS?”
With all committees voting on the exploration, Johnston said the next step for the AOS is gathering public information about what residents would like to keep about the school system and what they would like to change.
A project presentation detailing project phases and suggested benefits is available at aos93.org/page/strategic-vision-2025.
(Bisi Cameron Yee contributed to this article).
