An Act To Amend the Laws Regarding School Funding
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1932
House Amendment HA_A_H679 (House)

HOUSE AMENDMENT ,,·ff " to S.P. 741, L.D. 1932, Bill, "An Act To Amend the 
Laws Regarding School Funding" 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 3 the following: 
'Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA c. 103-A, sub-c. 7 is enacted to read: 
SUBCHAPTER 7 
REORGANIZATION OF REGIONAL SCHOOL UNITS 
§1516. Dissolution of a district 
1. Ten percent petition. Upon receipt of a petition that seeks to dissolve a regional 
school unit and establishes a maximum figure for the cost of preparing a dissolution 
agreement signed by 10% of the number of voters in a municipality who voted at the last 
gubernatorial election, the municipal officers of the municipality within the regional 
school unit shall call and hold a special election, in the manner provided for the calling 
and holding of town meetings or city elections, to vote on the dissolution of the regional 
school unit. 
A. 
At least 10 days before the election, a posted or otherwise advertised public 
hearing on the petition must be held by the municipal officers. 
B. The petition must be approved by secret ballot by a 2/3 vote of the voters present 
and voting before it may be presented to the board of directors and the commissioner. 
Voting in towns must be conducted in accordance with Title 30-A, sections 2528 and 
2529, even if the towns have not accepted the provisions of Title 30-A, section 2528, 
and voting in cities must be conducted in accordance with Title 21-A. 
2. Form. The article to be voted upon must be in substantially the following form: 
"Article: Do you favor filing a petition for dissolution with the directors of regional 
school unit (name of regional school unit) and with the Commissioner of Education, 
authorizing the dissolution committee to expend $ (insert amount) and authorizing the 
(municipal officers; i.e., selectmen, town council, etc.) to issue notes in the name of 
the (name of the municipality) or otherwise pledge the credit of the (name of the 
municipality) in an amount not to exceed $ (insert amount) for this purpose? 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT ~ff' to S.P. 741, L.D. 1932 
Yes No" 
3. Notice of vote; findinf! bv commissioner. If residents of a municipality within 
the regional school unit vote favorably on a petition for dissolution, the clerk shall 
immediately give written notices, by registered mail, to the secretary of the regional 
school unit and the commissioner that must include: 
A. The petition adopted by the voters, including the positive and negative votes cast; 
and 
B. 
An explanation by the municipal officers, stating to the best of their knowledge 
the reason or reasons why the municipality seeks to dissolve the regional school unit. 
4. Agreement for dissolution; notice; changes in agreement; final agreement, 
The agreement for dissolution must comply with the following. 
A. 
The commissioner, after consultation with the regional school unit board of 
directors, municipal officers of each municipality within the regional school unit and 
representatives of the group that filed the petition with the municipality, shall direct 
the municipal officers of each municipality to select representatives to a committee as 
follows: one member from the municipal officers, the group filing the petition; and 
one member from the general public; and one member from the group filing the 
petition if the group is represented in the municipality, otherwise an additional one 
member of the general public. The commissioner shall also direct the directors 
representing each municipality to select one member of the board of directors who 
represents that municipality to serve on the committee. The municipal officer and the 
member of the board of directors shall serve on the committee only so long as they 
hold their respective offices. Vacancies must be filled by the municipal officers and 
board of directors. The chair of the board of directors shall call a meeting of the 
committee within 30 days of the filing of the notice of the vote in subsection 3. The 
chair of the board of directors shall open the meeting by presiding over the election of 
a chair of the committee. The responsibility for the preparation of the agreement rests 
with the committee, subject to the approval of the commissioner. The committee may 
draw upon the resources of the department for information not readily available at the 
local level and employ competent advisors within the fiscal limit authorized by the 
voters. The agreement must be submitted to the commissioner within 90 days after 
the committee is formed. Extensions of time may be granted by the commissioner 
upon the request of the committee. 
(1) The agreement must contain provisions to provide educational services for all 
students in the regional school unit. The agreement must provide that during the 
first year following the dissolution, students may attend the school they would 
have attended if the regional school unit had not dissolved. The allowable tuition 
rate for students sent from one municipality to another in the former regional 
school unit must be determined under section 5805, subsection 1, except that it is 
not subject to the state per pupil average limitation in section 5805, subsection 2. 
(2) The agreement must establish the dissolution to take effect at the end of the 
regional school unit's fiscal year. 
(3) The agreement must establish that the dissolution will not cause a need 
within 5 years from the effective date of dissolution for school construction 
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projects that would be eligible for state funds. This limitation does not apply 
when a need for school construction existed prior to the effective date of the 
dissolution or when a need for school construction would have arisen even if the 
regional school unit had not dissolved. 
(4) The agreement must establish how transportation services will be provided. 
(5) The agreement must provide for administration of the new administrative 
units, which should not include the creation of new supervisory units if at all 
possible. 
(6) 
The agreement must make provIsIon for the distribution of financial 
commitments arising from outstanding bonds, notes and any other contractual 
obligations that extend beyond the proposed date of dissolution. 
(7) The agreement must make appropriate provision for the distribution of any 
outstanding financial commitments to the superintendent of the regional school 
unit. 
(8) 
The agreement must provide for the continuation and assignment of 
collective bargaining agreements as they apply to the new or reorganized regional 
school unit for the duration of those agreements and must provide for the 
continuation of representational rights. 
(9) 
The agreement must provide for the continuation of continuing contract 
rights under section 13201. 
(10) The agreement must provide for the disposition of all real and personal 
property and other monetary assets. 
(11) 
The agreement must provide for the transItIOn of administration and 
governance of the schools to properly elected governing bodies of the newly 
created administrative units and must provide that the governing bodies may not 
be elected simultaneously with the vote on the article to dissolve unless the 
commissioner finds there are extenuating circumstances that necessitate 
simultaneous elections. 
B. Within 60 days of the receipt of the agreement, the commissioner shall either give 
it conditional approval or recommend changes. The changes must be based upon the 
standards set forth in paragraph A and the commissioner's findings of whether the 
contents of the plan will provide for appropriate educational and related services to 
the students of the regional school unit and for the orderly transition of assets, 
governance and other matters related to the regional school unit. 
C. 
If the commissioner gives conditional approval of the agreement, the 
commissioner shall notifY the board of directors and the municipal officers by 
registered mail of the time and place of a public hearing at least 20 days prior to the 
date set for the hearing to discuss the merits of the proposed agreement of dissolution. 
The chair of the board of directors shall conduct the hearing. 
(1) The board of directors shall post a public notice in each municipality of the 
time and location of the hearing at least 10 days before the hearing. 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT 'Iff:. to S.P. 741, L.D. 1932 
I 
(2) Within 30 days following the hearing, the committee shall forward the final 
agreement to the commissioner. 
D. If the commissioner recommends changes, the commissioner shall: 
(1) Send the agreement back to the committee for necessary corrections; 
(2) Establish a maximum time within which to make the corrections; and 
(3) Indicate that the corrected agreement must be returned to the commissioner 
for conditional approval before it goes to public hearing as set forth in paragraph 
C. 
5. Date of vote; notice; warrant; polling hours. The date and time for voting is as 
set forth in this subsection. 
II 
A. The commissioner must determine the date upon which all municipalities must 
vote upon the dissolution agreement submitted to them. The election must be held as 
soon as practicable and the commissioner shall attempt to set the date of the vote to 
coincide with a statewide election. 
B. At least 35 days before the date set in paragraph A, the board of directors shall 
give written notice by registered or certified mail to the town or city clerk of each 
municipality having a right to vote on the dissolution agreement. 
C. 
The town or city clerk shall immediately notify the municipal officers upon 
receipt of the notice, and the municipal officers shall meet and immediately issue a 
warrant for a special town meeting or city election, as the case may be, to be held on 
the date designated by the commissioner. No other date may be used. 
D. In the respective warrants, the municipal officers shall direct that the polls open at 
a.m. and remain open until 8 p.m. 
6. Public hearing; voting procedures. The following requirements apply to the 
voting procedures. 
A. At least 10 days before the election, the municipal officers shall hold a posted or 
otherwise advertised public hearing on the dissolution question. 
B. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the voting at the meetings held in 
towns must be conducted in accordance with Title 30-A, sections 2528 and 2529, 
even if the towns have not accepted the provisions of Title 30-A, section 2528. 
C. The voting at the meeting held in cities must be conducted in accordance with 
Title 21-A. 
7. Article. The article to be voted on must be in the following form. 
"Article: Do you favor the dissolution of regional school unit (name of regional 
school unit) subject to the terms and conditions of the dissolution agreement dated 
(insert date)? 
Yes No" 
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8. Ballots; posting of agreement. The dissolution agreement need not be printed on 
the ballot. Copies of the agreement must be posted in each participating municipality in 
the same manner as specimen ballots are posted under Title 30-A, section 2528. 
9. Restriction on dissolution petitions. A municipality within a regional school 
unit may not petition for dissolution within 2 years after the date of: 
A. A municipal vote on a petition for dissolution if the petition received less than 
60% of the votes cast; or 
B. A regional school unit vote on a dissolution agreement if the agreement received 
less than 45% of the votes cast. 
10. Costs of dissolution agreements. If the regional school unit votes to permit 
dissolution, then the regional school unit shall reimburse the petitioning municipality for 
the authorized expenses incurred by the dissolution committee. If the regional school unit 
votes not to permit dissolution, then the regional school unit will not be required to 
reimburse the petitioning municipality for those expenses. 
11. Determination of vote. The town and city clerks shall, within 24 hours of 
determination of the result of the vote in their respective municipalities, certify the total 
number of votes cast in the affirmative and the total number of votes cast in the negative 
on the article to the board of directors. 
12. 
Determination of results; notification of commissioner; execution of 
agreement. Determination of results must comply with the following. 
A. Upon receipt of the results of the voting from all municipalities, the board of 
directors shall meet and shall compute and record the total number of votes cast in the 
municipalities in the affirmative and in the negative on the article. 
B. The board of directors shall notify the commissioner by registered mail or by 
hand delivery of the results of the vote. 
C. If the commissioner finds that a majority of the voters voting on the article have 
voted in the affirmative, the commissioner shall notify the directors of the regional 
school unit to take steps to dissolve the regional school unit in accordance with the 
terms of the agreement for dissolution. 
13. Recount; checklists and ballots; disputed ballots. The following provisions 
apply to recounts, checklists, ballots and disputed ballots. 
A. If, within 7 days of the computation and recording of the results of the voting 
from all municipalities, the municipal officers of any participating municipality 
request to the commissioner in writing a recount of the votes in the regional school 
unit, the commissioner shall immediately cause the checklists and all the ballots cast 
in all of the participating municipalities to be collected and kept at the commissioner's 
office so they may be recounted by interested municipalities. 
B. The town clerks of the participating municipalities are authorized to deliver the 
checklists and ballots to the commissioner, notwithstanding any other provision of 
law to the contrary. 
C. The commissioner shall resolve any question with regard to disputed ballots. 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT"if:. to S.P. 741, L.D. 1932 
I 
14. Execution of agreement; certified record; certificate of withdrawal. When 
the agreement for dissolution has been put into effect by the directors of the regional 
school unit, the directors shall notify the commissioner by certified mail that the 
agreement of dissolution has been executed. 
A. A complete certified record of the transaction involved in the dissolution must be 
filed with the commissioner. 
B. The commissioner shall immediately issue a certificate of dissolution to be sent 
by certified mail for filing with the directors of the regional school unit and shall file 
a copy in the office of the Secretary of State. 
15. 
Indebtedness; indebtedness defined; indebtedness after dissolution. The 
II 
following provisions apply to outstanding indebtedness. 
A. Whenever a regional school unit having outstanding indebtedness dissolves, the 
regional school unit remains intact for the purpose of securing and retiring the 
indebtedness. The dissolution agreement may provide for alternate means for retiring 
outstanding indebtedness. 
B. For the purposes of this subsection, "outstanding indebtedness" means bonds or 
notes for school construction projects issued by the board of directors pursuant to the 
authorization established under chapter 609 or Title 20, sections 3457 to 3460 or 
obligations to the Maine School Building Authority pursuant to any contract, lease or 
agreement made by the board of directors pursuant to approval thereof in a meeting 
of the regional school unit, but does not include any indebtedness of any municipality 
assumed by the regional school unit at the time of formation nor any contract, lease 
or agreement of the Maine School Building Authority to which by operation of law 
the regional school unit has become the assignee. 
16. 
General purpose aid. 
When a regional school unit dissolves, the general 
purpose aid for the individual municipalities must be computed in accordance with 
chapter 606-B. 
17. 
Committee recall. 
If the commissioner determines that the dissolution 
committee has failed to comply with the requirements of this section, the commissioner 
may authorize the municipal officers and the board of directors of the regional school unit 
to recall their representatives and to appoint new representatives to the committee. 
§1517. Withdrawal of a single municipality from a regional school unit 
1. Petition. The residents of a municipality within a regional school unit may 
petition to withdraw from the regional school unit as follows. 
A. Ten percent of the number of voters in the municipality who voted at the last 
gubernatorial election must sign the petition to withdraw from the regional school 
unit. 
B. At least 10 days before the special election called pursuant to this paragraph, the 
municipal officers of the municipality within the regional school unit shall hold a 
posted or otherwise advertised public hearing on the petition and shall call and hold 
the special election, in the manner provided for the calling and holding of town 
meetings or city elections to vote on the withdrawal of the regional school unit. 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT "p:. to S.P. 741, L.D. 1932 
C. The petition to withdraw from the regional school unit must be approved by secret 
ballot by a majority vote of the voters present and voting before it may be presented 
to the board of directors and the commissioner. Voting in towns must be conducted in 
accordance with Title 30-A, sections 2528 and 2529, even if the towns have not 
accepted the provisions of Title 30-A, section 2528, and voting in cities must be 
conducted in accordance with Title 2l-A. 
2. Form. The article to be voted upon must be in substantially the following form: 
"Article: Do you favor filing a petition for withdrawal with the directors of regional 
school unit (name of regional school unit) and with the Commissioner of Education, 
authorizing the withdrawal committee to expend $ (insert amount) and authorizing 
the (municipal officers; i.e., selectmen, town council, etc.) to issue notes in the name 
of the (name of the municipality) or otherwise pledge the credit of the (name of the 
municipality) in an amount not to exceed $ (insert amount) for this purpose? 
Yes No" 
3. Notice of vote; finding by commissioner. If residents of the municipality vote 
favorably on a petition for withdrawal, the clerk shall immediately give written notices, 
by registered mail, to the secretary of the regional school unit and the commissioner that 
must include: 
A. The petition adopted by the voters, including the positive and negative votes cast; 
and 
B. An explanation by the municipal officers, stating to the best of their knowledge 
the reason or reasons why the municipality seeks to withdraw from the regional 
school unit. 
4. Agreement for withdrawal; notice; changes in agreement; final agreement. 
The agreement for withdrawal must comply with the following. 
A. 
The commissioner shall direct the municipal officers of the petitioning 
municipality to select representatives to a committee as follows: one member from 
the municipal officers, the group filing the petition; and one member from the general 
public; and one member from the group filing the petition if the group is represented 
in the municipality, otherwise an additional one member of the general public. The 
commissioner shall also direct the directors representing the petitioning municipality 
to select one member of the board of directors who represents that municipality to 
serve on the committee. The municipal officer and the member of the board of 
directors serve on the committee only so long as they hold their respective offices. 
Vacancies must be filled by the municipal officers and board of directors. The chair 
of the board of directors shall call a meeting of the committee within 30 days of the 
filing of the notice of the vote in subsection 3. The chair of the board of directors 
shall open the meeting by presiding over the election of a chair of the committee. The 
responsibility for the preparation of the agreement rests with the committee, subject 
to the approval of the commissioner. The committee may draw upon the resources of 
the department for information not readily available at the local level and employ 
competent advisors within the fiscal limit authorized by the voters. The agreement 
must be submitted to the commissioner within 90 days after the committee is formed. 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT .ff,. to S.P. 741. L.D. 1932 
Extensions of time may be granted by the commissioner upon the request of the 
committee. 
(1) The agreement must contain provisions to provide educational services for all 
students in the regional school unit. The agreement must provide that during the 
first year following the withdrawal, students may attend the school they would 
have attended if the petitioning municipality had not withdrawn. The allowable 
tuition rate for students sent from one municipality to another in the former 
regional school unit must be determined under section 5805, subsection l, except 
that it is not subject to the state per pupil average limitation in section 5805, 
subsection 2. 
(2) The agreement must establish the withdrawal to take effect at the end of the 
regional school unit's fiscal year. 
(3) The agreement must establish that the withdrawal will not cause a need 
within 5 years from the effective date of withdrawal for school construction 
projects that would be eligible for state funds. This limitation does not apply 
when a need for school construction existed prior to the effective date of the 
withdrawal or when a need for school construction would have arisen even if the 
municipality had not withdrawn. 
(4) The agreement must establish how transportation services will be provided. 
(5) 
The agreement must provide for administration of the new municipal 
administrative unit, which should not include the creation of new supervisory 
units if at all possible. 
(6) 
The agreement must make provIsIOn for the distribution of financial 
commitments arising from outstanding bonds, notes and any other contractual 
obligations that extend beyond the proposed date of withdrawal. 
(7) The agreement must make appropriate provision for the distribution of any 
outstanding financial commitments to the superintendent of the regional school 
unit. 
(8) 
The agreement must provide for the continuation and assignment of 
collective bargaining agreements as they apply to the new or reorganized regional 
school unit for the duration of those agreements and must provide for the 
continuation of representational rights. 
(9) The agreement must provide for the continuation of continuing contract 
rights under section 13201. 
(10) The agreement must provide for the disposition of all real and personal 
property and other monetary assets. 
(11) 
The agreement must provide for the transItIOn of administration and 
governance of the schools to properly elected governing bodies of the newly 
created municipal administrative unit and must provide that the governing body 
may not be elected simultaneously with the vote on the article to withdraw unless 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT"~ to S.P. 741, L.D. 1932 
the commissioner finds there are extenuating circumstances that necessitate 
simultaneous elections. 
B. Within 60 days of the receipt of the agreement, the commissioner shall either give 
it conditional approval or recommend changes. The changes must be based upon the 
standards set forth in paragraph A and the commissioner's findings of whether the 
contents of the plan will provide for appropriate educational and related services to 
the students of the municipality and the regional school unit and for the orderly 
transition of assets, governance and other matters related to the municipality and the 
regional school unit. 
e. 
If the commissioner gives conditional approval of the agreement, the 
commissioner shall notify the board of directors and the municipal officers by 
registered mail of the time and place of a public hearing at least 20 days prior to the 
date set for the hearing to discuss the merits of the proposed agreement of 
withdrawal. The chair of the board of directors shall conduct the hearing. 
(1) The board of directors shall post a public notice in each municipality of the 
time and location of the hearing at least 10 days before the hearing. 
(2) Within 30 days following the hearing, the committee shall forward the final 
agreement to the commissioner. 
D. If the commissioner recommends changes, the commissioner shall: 
(1) Send the agreement back to the committee for necessary corrections; 
(2) Establish a maximum time within which to make the corrections; and 
(3) Indicate that the corrected agreement must be returned to the commissioner 
for conditional approval before it goes to public hearing as set forth in paragraph 
e. 
5. Date of municipal election; notice; warrant; polling hours. The date and time 
for voting is as set forth in this subsection. 
A. 
The commissioner shall determine the date upon which the petitioning 
municipality must vote upon the agreement submitted to them. The election must be 
held as soon as practicable and the commissioner shall attempt to set the date of the 
vote to coincide with a statewide election. 
B. At least 35 days before the date set in paragraph A. the commissioner shall give 
written notice by registered or certified mail to the town or city clerk of the 
municipality petitioning to withdraw. 
e. The town or city clerk shall immediately notify the municipal officers upon 
receipt of the notice, and the municipal officers shall meet and immediately issue a 
warrant for a special town meeting or city election, as the case may be, to be held on 
the date designated by the commissioner. No other date may be used. 
D. In the respective warrants, the municipal officers shall direct that the polls open at 
a.m. and remain open until 8 p.m. 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT .. 1f t. S.P. 741. L.D. 1932 
6. Public hearing; voting procedures. The following reguirements apply to the 
voting procedures. 
A. At least 10 days before the election, the municipal officers shall hold a posted or 
otherwise advertised public hearing on the withdrawal guestion. 
B. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the voting at the meetings held in 
towns must be conducted in accordance with Title 30-A, sections 2528 and 2529, 
even if the towns have not accepted the provisions of Title 30-A, section 2528. 
C. The voting at the meeting held in cities must be conducted in accordance with 
Title 2I-A. 
7. Article. The article to be voted on must be in the following form. 
"Article: Do you favor the withdrawal of the (name of municipality) from the 
regional school unit (name of regional school unit) subject to the terms and 
conditions of the withdrawal agreement dated (insert date)? 
Yes No" 
8. Ballots; posting of agreement. The withdrawal agreement need not be printed on 
the ballot. Copies of the agreement must be posted in the municipality in the same 
manner as specimen ballots are posted under Title 30-A, section 2528. 
9. Restriction on withdrawal petitions. A municipality within a regional school 
unit may not petition for withdrawal within 2 years after the date of: 
A. A municipal vote on a petition for withdrawal if the petition received less than 
45% of the votes cast; or 
B. A municipal vote on a withdrawal agreement if the agreement received less than 
60% of the votes cast. 
10. 
Cost of advisors. 
The expense of employing competent advisors by the 
municipality petitioning to withdraw must be borne by the municipality and the expense 
of employing competent advisors by the regional school unit must be borne by the 
regional school unit with the municipality bearing its share according to the regional 
school unit's cost-sharing agreement. 
11. Determination of vote. The town and city clerks shall, within 24 hours of 
determination of the result of the vote in the municipality, certifY the total number of 
votes cast in the affirmative and the total number of votes cast in the negative on the 
article to the commissioner. 
12. Determination of results; execution of agreement. If the commissioner finds 
that a majority of the voters voting on the article have voted in the affirmative, the 
commissioner shall notifY the municipal officers and the directors of the regional school 
unit to take steps for the withdrawal in accordance with the terms of the agreement for 
withdrawal. 
13. Recount; checklists and ballots; disputed ballots. The following provisions 
apply to recounts, checklists, ballots and disputed ballots. 
A. If, within 7 days of the computation and recording of the results of the voting, the 
municipality requests to the commissioner in writing a recount of the votes, the 
Page IO-123LR3324(19)-1 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT ~#, to S.P. 741, L.D. 1932 
commissioner shall immediately cause the checklists and all the ballots cast in the 
municipality to be collected and kept at the commissioner's office so they may be 
recounted by the municipality. 
B. The town or city clerk of the municipality is authorized to deliver the checklists 
and ballots to the commissioner, notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 
contrary. 
C. The commissioner shall resolve any question with regard to disputed ballots. 
14. Execution of agreement; certified record; certificate of withdrawal. When 
the agreement for withdrawal has been put into effect by the municipality, the municipal 
officers shall notify the commissioner by certified mail that the agreement of withdrawal 
has been executed. 
15. Indebtedness; indebtedness defined; indebtedness after withdrawal. The 
following provisions apply to outstanding indebtedness. 
A. 
Whenever a municipality withdraws from a regional school unit having 
outstanding indebtedness, the regional school unit remains intact for the purpose of 
securing and retiring the indebtedness. The withdrawal agreement may provide for 
alternate means for retiring outstanding indebtedness. 
B. For purposes of this subsection, "outstanding indebtedness" means bonds or notes 
for school construction projects issued by the board of directors pursuant to the 
authorization established under chapter 609 or Title 20, sections 3457 to 3460 or 
obligations to the Maine School Building Authority pursuant to any contract, lease or 
agreement made by the board of directors pursuant to approval thereof in a meeting 
of the regional school unit, but does not include any indebtedness of the municipality 
assumed by the regional school unit at the time of formation nor any contract, lease 
or agreement of the Maine School Building Authority to which by operation of law 
the regional school unit has become the assignee. 
16. General purpose aid. When a municipality withdraws from a regional school 
unit, the general purpose aid for the municipality must be computed in accordance with 
chapter 606-B. 
17. 
Committee recall. 
If the commissioner determines that the withdrawal 
committee has failed to comply with the requirements of this section, the commissioner 
may authorize the municipal officers to appoint new representatives to the committee. 
18. Commissioner recommended dissolution. The commissioner's responsibilities 
to initiate dissolution proceedings are as follows. 
A. If a municipality representing more than 50% of the total popUlation in a regional 
school unit votes to withdraw from the district, then the commissioner shall analyze 
the educational impact of the withdrawal upon the regional school unit. The regional 
school unit's board of directors and the municipal officers from the remaining 
municipalities must be consulted. 
B. If the commissioner finds that it is impractical for the remaining municipalities to 
continue as a regional school unit, then the commissioner shall initiate a dissolution 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT fl' to S,P. 741, L.D. 1932 
process by having the regional school unit submit the following article to the voters at 
a regional school unit meeting. 
"Article: Do you favor appointment of a dissolution committee for the dissolution 
of regional school unit (name of regional school unit) by the Commissioner of 
Education, authorizing the dissolution committee to expend $ (insert amount) 
and authorizing the (municipal officers; i.e., selectmen, town council, etc.) to 
issue notes in the name of the (name of the municipality) or otherwise pledge the 
credit of the (name of the municipality) of in an amount not to exceed $ (insert 
amount) for this purpose? 
Yes No" 
C. If the voters approve the article by a majority vote of those voting and present, 
then the rest of the dissolution process set forth in section 1516 applies except: 
(1) A 2nd member from the general public must be selected by the municipal 
officers to fill the position on the dissolution committee normally held by a 
representative of the group that would have filed the dissolution petition; and 
(2) Costs of preparing a dissolution agreement must be borne solely by the 
regional school unit. 
19. 
Transfer of property. 
The board of directors may negotiate with the 
withdrawal committee regarding an equitable division of the regional school unit's 
property between the regional school unit and the municipality represented by the 
committee and transfer title of the property to the municipality following withdrawal. The 
board of directors shall determine that the regional school unit's educational program may 
not be disrupted solely because of the transfer of any given property before it may 
complete the transfer. 
§1518. Transfer of a municipality from one regional school unit to another 
1. Petition to commissioner. The boards of directors of 2 regional school units may 
petition the commissioner by joint resolution to permit a municipality to transfer from 
one regional school unit to another, as long as that municipality is being transferred to a 
regional school unit contiguous to the municipality. 
2. Transfer agreement. The boards of directors of the 2 regional school units and 
the municipal officers of the municipality involved shall form a committee to prepare a 
transfer agreement within 60 days after being notified by the commissioner to prepare the 
agreement. Extensions of time may be granted by the commissioner. 
A. The committee shall consider the standards set forth in section 1516, subsection 4, 
paragraph A in preparing the agreement. 
B. The approval process for the agreement shall follow the steps set forth in section 
1516, subsection 4 to subsection 16. 
C. 
The following article shall appear on the ballot when the transfer of a 
municipality is considered. 
"Article: Do you favor permitting the (name of municipality) to transfer from 
regional school unit (name of regional school unit) into regional school unit 
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(name of regional school unit) as a participating municipality of that regional 
school unit subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement of transfer 
approved by the Commissioner of Education dated (insert date)? 
Yes No" 
A copy of the agreement must be posted with each warrant that directs the citizens to 
vote upon the question. 
D. The article must be approved by a majority of votes cast in both regional school 
units and by a majority of votes cast in the municipality to be transferred before the 
agreement may take effect. 
E. A complete certified record of the transaction involved in the transfer must be 
filed with the commissioner. The commissioner shall issue immediately a certificate 
of transfer to the secretary of the regional school unit by registered mail to be filed 
with the boards of directors of the regional school units involved and shall file a copy 
of the certificate of transfer in the office of the Secretary of State. 
3. Outstanding indebtedness. Whenever a municipality, or a part of a municipality, 
is detached from a regional school unit having outstanding indebtedness, the municipality 
or part of a municipality remains as part of the regional school unit from which it was 
detached for the purposes of paying its proper portion of the indebtedness until the 
indebtedness is redeemed. The municipality or part of a municipality is not part of the 
regional school unit from which it was detached for the purpose of any outstanding 
indebtedness incurred subsequent to the date of the certificate of transfer. 
For purposes of this subsection, "outstanding indebtedness" means bonds or notes for 
school construction projects issued by the board of directors pursuant to the authorization 
established under chapter 609 or Title 20, sections 3457 to 3460 or obligations to the 
Maine School Building Authority pursuant to any contract, lease or agreement made by 
the board of directors pursuant to approval thereof in a meeting of the regional school 
unit, but does not include any indebtedness of the municipality assumed by the regional 
school unit at the time of formation nor any contract, lease or agreement of the Maine 
School Building Authority to which by operation of law the regional school unit has 
become the assignee. 
§1519. State board review of commissioner's decisions 
A regional school unit or other interested party may request that the state board 
reconsider decisions made by the commissioner under this subchapter. The state board 
has the authority to overturn decisions made by the commissioner. In exercising this 
power, the state board is limited by this subchapter. 
§1520. Rules 
The state board may adopt rules to carry out this subchapter. Rules adopted pursuant 
to this section are routine technical rules in accordance with Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 'A" to S.P. 741, L.D. 1932 
SUMMARY 
This amendment enacts into law provisions regarding reorganization of regional 
school units. The new provisions are similar to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, 
former sections 1403, 1405 and 1406 and allow the dissolution of regional school units, 
the withdrawal from a regional school unit by a municipality and the transfer by a 
municipality out of one regional school unit into another. The amendment also includes 
provisions that formerly applied in this area of law authorizing the State Board of 
Education to review decisions of the Commissioner of Education and to make rules 
concerning the reorganization of the regional school units. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
. 
(Seeatta~ 
SPONSORED BY: d~J 
/t!~ ~i/!/.t1 
(Representati~FADDEN) 
TOWN: Dennysville 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Approved: 02/08/08 ?dac.. 
LD 1932 
LR 3324(19) 
An Act To Amend the Laws Regarding School Funding 
Fiscal Note for House Amendment "H" 
Sponsor: Rep. McFadden of Dennysville 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Potential future biennium cost increase - General Fund 
Allowing for the dissolution of a regional school unit (RSU) or the withdrawal of a regional school unit member from 
an RSU may increase the total cost ofK-12 public education in future biennia due to less savings being achieved 
versus what was anticipated in Public Law 2007, chapter 240, Part XXXX. The amount can not be determined at this 
time. 
LR3324(19) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1