An Act To Improve the School Administrative Unit Consolidation Laws by Allowing a Regional School Unit To Dissolve Itself
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1347
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: PARRY

Legislative Document 
No. 1347 
H.P. 965 
House of Representatives, April 9, 2013 
An Act To Improve the School Administrative Unit Consolidation 
Laws by Allowing a Regional School Unit To Dissolve Itself 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative PARRY of Arundel. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
CONCEPT DRAFT 
SUMMARY 
This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208. 
This bill proposes to improve the school administrative unit consolidation laws by 
allowing for the dissolution of a regional school unit at the end of any school year.  The 
bill provides the following process for the dissolution of a regional school unit. 
1.  A member municipality of a regional school unit may petition to hold a vote on 
the dissolution of the regional school unit. 
2.  If a majority of the voters in the municipality approve the petition, the petition 
must be presented to the regional school unit board and the Commissioner of Education.  
The commissioner shall contact the regional school unit board, municipal officers of the 
participating municipalities and representatives of the group that filed the petition to 
establish a dissolution committee, which must prepare a dissolution agreement for 
submission to the voters of the member municipalities in the regional school unit. 
3.  Each member municipality of the regional school unit may independently decide 
whether the member municipality wants to participate in the referendum vote to dissolve 
the regional school unit. 
4.   A majority of the member municipalities within the regional school unit must 
approve the decision to hold the referendum vote on the question on the dissolution of the 
regional school unit. 
5.  The regional school unit may be dissolved only if a majority of voters in a 
majority of the member municipalities within the regional school unit votes to approve 
the referendum question to dissolve the regional school unit. 
6.  If a majority of voters in a majority of the member municipalities within the 
regional school unit votes to approve the referendum question on the dissolution of the 
regional school unit, the regional school unit must be dissolved and the board of directors 
of the regional school unit and a dissolution committee comprised of members 
representing each of the member municipalities in the regional school unit must develop 
and execute a dissolution agreement. 
7.  The dissolution agreement must provide for the disposition of all real and personal 
property and other monetary assets. 
8.  The dissolution agreement must address the outstanding indebtedness of the 
regional school unit as follows: 
A.  Outstanding indebtedness may not include debt service for school property, 
including real estate, facilities and any other infrastructure debt that is the sole 
responsibility of a member municipality within the regional school unit; and 
B.  Except for the provisions in paragraph A, outstanding indebtedness must be 
apportioned to each member municipality of the regional school unit based on the 
percentage of resident students that each member municipality has of the total student 
resident count in the regional school unit. 
9.  The member municipalities of the dissolved regional school unit may not be 
penalized for dissolving the regional school unit. 
10.  The member municipalities of the dissolved regional school unit may join 
another existing regional school unit or alternative organizational structure or may form 
an alternative organizational structure with another school administrative unit or with 
other units. 
11.  A member municipality of the dissolved regional school unit that tuitions a 
majority of its resident students to another school administrative unit or a private school 
that is approved to receive publicly funded students is exempt from any requirements 
established for the minimum number of students under the school administrative unit 
consolidation law and may form its own municipal school unit.  A municipal school unit 
formed under this exemption must continue to provide school choice to parents of 
students who reside in the member municipality.