An Act To Allow the Creation of a School District in Northern Franklin County (AFTER DEADLINE)
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1722
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: SA VIELLO, BROWNE, CARTER, CLARK, CLEARY, GIFFORD, SCHATZ, GOOLEY
Amends: 20-A MRSA §1201, 20-A MRSA §1202

Legislative Document 
No. 1722 
H.P.1205 
House of Representatives, March 23, 2007 
An Act To Allow the Creation of a School District in Northern 
Franklin County 
(AFTER DEADLINE) 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
205. 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative SA VIELLO of Wilton. 
/J1~/J7.7l/~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: BROWNE of Vassalboro, CARTER of Bethel, CLARK of 
Millinocket, CLEARY of Houlton, CRA Y of Palmyra, GIFFORD of Lincoln, SCHATZ of 
Blue Hill, Senator: GOOLEY of Franklin. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §1201, sub-§l, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8, is 
amended to read: 
1. Number of municipalities. The district sfta.U must have 2 or more member 
municipalities and may include a municipality or school administrative district combining 
with another school administrative district. 
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §1202, sub-§l, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8, is 
amended to read: 
1. Application vote. At a duly called special or regular meeting or city election the 
voters of a municipality may instruct its school board to file an application with the state 
board. The article to be inserted in the warrant for the meeting sfta.U must be in the 
following form: 
"To see if the municipality will vote to instruct its school board to file an 
application with the State Board of Education for the purpose of forming 
a school administrative district with the following towns: 
(naming them)" 
For a school administrative district that is forming a new school administrative district 
with another school administrative district or municipality, approval of the article requires 
a majority vote of those voting in each municipality in the district. 
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §1202, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8, is 
amended to read: 
2. Initial application. If the article is approved, the school board shall file an initial 
application with the state board. 
A. The application sfta.U must include a list of the names of the municipalities that 
propose to form the school administrative district, an adequate study outlining the 
desirability and the educational feasibility of the proposed district and whatever other 
information the state board may deem determines necessary and proper. 
B. IA mUAieipalities , .... bieb bave For a municipality or school administrative district 
that has less than 300, but more than 99 resident pupils, the application sfta.U must 
state in detail the educational, economic and geographic reasons for the formation of 
the proposed school administrative district. 
C. 
An application sfta.U must be filed on a form prepared by the state board. 
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §1202, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8, is 
amended to read: 
3. 
Calling of a joint meeting. 
If the state board finds the proposed school 
administrative district eligible and approves its initial application, the state board shall 
I 
notify the municipal officers and the members of the school boards ffi of the 
municipalities within the proposed district of a date, time and place of a joint meeting of 
the municipal officers and the school board members ffem for each municipality. 
A. The notice sftal.l must be in writing and sent by registered or certified mail, return 
receipt requested, to the addresses as shown on the application. 
B. The notice sftal.l must be mailed at least 10 days prior to the date set for the 
meeting. 
Sec. 5. 20-A MRS A §1202, sub-§4, as amended by PL 1983, c. 485, §7, is 
further amended to read: 
4. Joint meeting. The following shall goyern governs the joint meeting. 
II 
A. 
At least 112 of the total number of municipal officers and school committee 
members eligible to vote at the joint meeting sftal.l must be present to constitute a 
quorum. If there is no quorum, those present shall report to the state board that a 
quorum was not present and request the state board to issue a new notice. 
B. The school boards and municipal officers of each municipality shall each caucus 
and select 3 of their members to represent tAeH each municipality in the joint 
meeting. Other members may not vote in the joint meeting. 
C. 
Those with voting rights shall, by majority vote: 
(1) Elect a chairman chair and a secretary; 
(2) Determine the total number of school directors to represent each municipality 
and the method of apportioning voting power among directors consistent with 
this section and sections 1251 and 1252; 
(3) Determine the method of sharing costs under section 1301; and 
(4) Determine the date wheri all the municipalities in the proposed district sftal.l 
must vote on the articles of district formation. The date sftal.l must be at least 60 
days from the date on which it is determined. 
D. The chairman chair and secretary shall prepare a report describing the number of 
directors and the representation from each municipality. They shall sign and forward 
that report to the state board. 
Sec. 6. 20-A MRSA §1202, sub-§9 is enacted to read: 
9. Special provision for unincorporated townships. For pumoses of this chapter, 
"municipality" includes an unincorporated township. Upon a petition of 10% or more of 
the voters in an unincorporated township, the township may hold an election to file an 
application to the state board under subsection 1. 
If the article is approved, the 
application is automatically filed with the state board and the unincorporated township 
shall hold a special meeting to select one resident of the township to fulfill the role of 
municipal clerk and 3 residents to represent the township at the joint meeting under 
subsection 4 and to fulfill the role of municipal officers under this section. The articles to 
I 
be voted on In subsection I and subsection 6 must replace "municipality" with 
"township. " 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows a school administrative unit that is a municipality or school 
administrative district to combine with another school administrative district to create a 
larger school administrative district. This bill also allows unincorporated townships to 
join or create school administrative districts upon petition by 10% or more of the voters 
of the township and upon election within the township. 
At a special meeting, the 
township selects representatives to act as municipal officers and the municipal clerk.