An Act To Provide Flexibility for Efficient and Effective Management of School Management and Leadership Centers
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1341
Committee Amendment CA_A_H325 (House)
Amends: 20-A MRSA §1051, 20-A MRSA §3801, 20-A MRSA §3806, 20-A MRSA §5205, 20-A MRSA §13025, 20-A MRSA §15683-C, 20-A MRSA §15689

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to H.P. 969, L.D. 1341, Bill, "An Act To 
Provide Flexibility for Efficient and Effective Management of School Management and 
Leadership Centers" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §1051, sub-§6, ~, as repealed and replaced by PL 2017, c. 
475, Pt. A, §23, is amended to read: 
D. A group of school administrative units that have an interlocal agreement pursuant 
to Title 30-A, chapter 115 in order to establish a--fIBheol management and leadership 
an education service center to jointly purchase the services of a superintendent may 
elect the superintendent in the manner prescribed in their interlocal agreement. 
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §3801, as amended by PL 2019, c. 70, §3, is further amended 
to read: 
§3801. General provisions 
1. Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A. "Municipality" means a city, town or organized plantation. 
B. 
11,Seheol management and leadership Education service center" means a 
multiservice agency established and operated exclusively for the purposes of 
developing, managing and providing services or programs to 2 or more members 
pursuant to section 3802, subsection 2 and may include associate members pursuant 
to section 3802, subsection 3. /',. 
11sohool management and leadership An "education 
service center" is a political subdivision pursuant to section 3802, subsection 7. 
2. 
Establishment. 
A school administrative unit as described in section 3802, 
subsection 2 may become a member of a school managsmi:mt and leadership an education 
service center through an interlocal agreement pursuant to Title 30-A, chapter 115 and the 
agreement may include associate members as described in section 3 802, subsection 3. 
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3. 
Interlocal agreement. 
An interlocal agreement establishing a schoel 
management and leadership an education service center must include the structure and 
governance of the school management and leadership education service center and its 
functions, programs and services. 
A. An interlocal agreement must include the specifications required pursuant to Title 
30-A, section 2203, subsection 2 and a description of: 
(1) 
The school management and leadership education service center board 
composition, election or appointment of officers, board member tenns and 
method of voting; 
(2) An approval process for a new school administrative unit to join the seheel 
mana!"smBflt and leadersh1n education service center; 
(3) An approval process for an existing member to transfer to another seheel 
mana1rnment and leadershin education service center; 
( 4) The process for detennining the sharing of costs for and the assessments of 
or payments to the school management and leadership education service center; 
(5) The budget process that requires a school management and leadership an 
education service center budget be adopted by a date established in order to meet 
local school administrative unit budget deadlines. 
The budget process must 
include a contingency plan for a budget failure and must be in the cost center 
summary budget format pursuant to section 1485; 
(6) The process for a balanced budget as required by section 3802, subsection 10 
and the method of determining the return of any excess funds to the members of 
the school management and leadership education service center; and 
(7) The process for the disposition of indebtedness and property including by 
sale or lease, transferred to or from or administered by the school manaeement 
and leadsrshin education service center. 
B. An interlocal agreement may include but is not limited to a description of the 
following: 
(1) 
The approval process for the formation of a school manaeement and 
lsadershin an education service center; 
(2) Any associate members, the process for including associate members and 
their roles in the school management and leadsrshlo education service center; 
(3) The process to authorize the school management and leadership education 
service center to borrow funds for school construction purposes including bonds 
and notes; 
(4) The process to approve the purchase or lease of buildings or land by the 
seheol management and leadership education service center; 
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(5) The process by which a---s4eol management and leadership an education 
service center may establish, maintain and expend funds from a reserve fund or 
contingency fund; 
( 6) 
The process of hiring an executive director or contracting services for 
leadership for the school management and leadership education service center; 
and 
(7) A transition plan to move authorized programs and services from a member 
to the school management and leadership education service center. 
An interlocal agreement cannot transfer a school administrative unit's responsibility for 
providing the opportunity of a free public education to each of its students or a free, 
appropriate education to each of its students with a disability as required by this Title or 
by federal law. 
4. Duties of education service center. A school management and leadership An 
education service center's functions, programs and services may include but are not 
limited to the following: 
A. Accounting, payroll and financial management services and procurement; 
B. Transportation, transportation routing and vehicle maintenance; 
C. Reporting functions; 
D. Special education programs and administration; 
E. Gifted and talented programs and administration; 
F. Alternative education programs and administration; 
G. Substitute teachers and staff augmentation; 
H. Technology and technology support; 
I. Food service planning and purchasing; 
J. Energy management and facilities maintenance; 
L. Staff training and professional development; 
M. Shared educational programs or staff; 
N. Shared support service programs; 
0. Educational programs such as summer school, extended school year, tutoring, 
advanced placement and other programs that serve students and improve student 
achievement; 
P. Shared extracurricular or cocurricular programs; and 
Q. Superintendent services. 
Sec. 3. 
20-A MRSA §§3802 to 3805, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. 
VVVVV, §6, are amended to read: 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "II" to H.P. 969, L.D. 1341 
§3802. Education service center authorized 
A school management and leadership An education service center shall provide 
administrative and education functions in accordance with this chapter and shall function 
as an extension of the member school administrative units and associate members of the 
sohool management and leadership education service center. 
A member school 
administrative unit of the school management and leadership education service center 
cannot transfer the responsibility for providing the opportunity of a free public education 
to each of its students or a free, appropriate education to each of its students with a 
disability as required by this Title or by federal law. 
1. Geographic boundaries. The commissioner shall determine 9 to 12 geographic 
areas for the establishment of each school management and leadership education service 
center. Membership in a particular school management and leadership education service 
center does not require the member to be physically located in the sohool manaeement 
and leadership education service center's geographic boundary. 
2. Members. Members in a sohool management and leadership an education service 
center must be determined by interlocal agreement pursuant to Title 30-A, chapter 115 
and may include the following types of school administrative units: 
A. Community school districts pursuant to chapter 105; 
B. Municipal school units pursuant to chapter 111; 
C. Regional school units pursuant to chapter 103-A; 
D. School administrative districts pursuant to chapter 103; and 
E. Schools established on tribal lands pursuant to Title 30, chapter 601.; and 
F. Public charter schools as defined in chapter 112. 
3. Associate members. Associate members for a school management and leadership 
an education service center may include the following through a contractual agreement or 
memorandum of understanding with the members of the seheol mnn:u,~mAnt nno 
leadership education service center: 
A. Career and technical education regions pursuant to chapter 313, subchapter 4; 
B. Publio ohartsr schools as defined in ohaptsr 112; 
C. Providers of child development services pursuant to chapter 303; 
D. Magnet schools pursuant to chapters 312 and 312-A; 
E. 
The Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the 
Governor Baxter School for the Deaf pursuant to chapter 304; 
F. Providers of education in the unorganized territory pursuant to chapter 119; or 
G. Municipalities and counties pursuant to Title 30-A. 
4. Provision of services to or from other public entities or nonprofit entities. A 
school management and leadership An education service center may provide services to 
or purchase services from other types of political subdivisions, public entities or nonprofit 
organizations or associations. 
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5. Purchase of services from another education service center. A member of a 
sehool management and leadership an education service center may purchase services 
from another sehool management and leadership education service center if not provided 
by the member's sehool management and leadership education service center. 
6. Validation. A sehool management and leadership An education service center 
authorized and organized under this chapter is validated, confirmed, approved and 
declared legal in all respects, notwithstanding any defect or irregularity that may have 
occurred in the organization of the sehool management and leadership education service 
center or in the selection of the board of that sehool manaeement and leadershin 
education service center. 
7. Political subdivision. A--sehool management and leadership An education service 
center is a political subdivision within the meaning of Title 5, section 19002, subsection 6 
and a quasi-municipal corporation within the meaning of Title 30-A, section 5701, and all 
the provisions of those sections apply to it. Notwithstanding Title 30-A, section 2203, 
subsection 8, paragraph B, the members of a-wheel management and leadership an 
education service center may delegate eminent domain power to the sehool management 
and leadership education service center by agreement. 
A sohool management and 
leadership An education service center is considered a tax-exempt governmental entity 
for the purposes of Title 36, section 1760, subsection 2. 
8. Executive director; leadership services. A, sohool management and leadership 
An education service center shall employ an executive director or contract for leadership 
services, and the interlocal agreement under section 3801, subsection 3 must specify that 
the executive director or the provider of leadership services shall administer, in 
compliance with this chapter, the provisions of the interlocal agreement in the sooeol 
manaeement and lsadershin education service center. 
9. Personnel. The executive director or the provider of leadership services of a 
sohool management and leadership an education service center may employ a chief 
financial officer and may employ additional staff necessary or hire a fiscal agent to 
administer the functions assigned to the school management and leadership education 
service center through the provisions of the interlocal agreement under section 3801, 
subsection 3. 
10. Balanced budget. A school management and leadership An education service 
center must have a balanced budget and return excess funds to the members as prescribed 
by the interlocal agreement under section 3801, subsection 3. 
11. Authority to borrow, expend and accept funds. A i.chool mana~rnmgnt and 
learlershin An education service center may: 
A. Borrow funds in anticipation of a member's payment of its share of the sooeo1 
management and leadership education service center budget. Suoh borrovling:; 
(1) Must be repaid vn.thin one year; and 
(2) May not at any time eJceeed 3/4 of the sohool management and leadership 
oenter's annual approved budget; 
B. Expend available funds to pay debt service, security and maintenance costs; and 
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C. Accept and expend funds from state, federal and other sources and expend those 
funds on behalf of the members. 
12. Bonding authority. A school managem~mt and leadership An education service 
center may issue bonds and notes for school construction purposes. For purposes of this 
section, "school construction purposes" includes minor capital costs relating to 
maintenance of a school's physical plant. 
The sooeol management and leadership 
education service center board shall decide whether the issuance of bonds or notes by the 
school management and leadership education service center for school construction 
purposes is necessary. The board shall determine whether the issuance of bonds or notes 
is authorized, and, if so, the board shall issue the bonds or notes and administer the 
proceeds of, and the payment of principal of and interest on, those bonds or notes after 
issuance. A school management and leadership An education service center may issue 
bonds and notes for school construction purposes only under the provisions of the 
interlocal agreement under section 3801, subsection 3. 
13. Withdrawal from education service center. If a single school administrative 
unit applies to withdraw, it must demonstrate to the commissioner that as a result of the 
school administrative unit's withdrawing that there will be no increase in costs or 
decrease in student programs and services for is in the best interests of the withdrawing 
school administrative unit and fer of any of the remaining member school administrative 
units of the school management and leadership education service center. 
14. Dissolution of education service center. A school management and leadership 
An education service center may not be dissolved unless it applies to the commissioner 
for approval and: 
A. 
All member school administrative units apply to transfer to another sooeel 
mnnni:r~m~nt nnri 1~nrfor.<.:h1n education service center; or 
B. If all the member school administrative units of a school management and 
leadership an education service center apply to dissolve the school management and 
leadership education service center, they demonstrate to the commissioner that there 
vlill be no increase in costs or decrease in student programs and services for any of 
the member school administrative units of the school managemoot and leadership 
eenter it is in the best interests of the member school administrative units of the 
education service center to dissolve the education service center. 
15. Reporting requirements. A school management and leadership An education 
service center must meet state and federal repo1ting requirements on behalf of each 
member school administrative unit. 
§3803. Oversight 
The commissioner shall provide oversight of the school management and leadership 
education service centers, and this oversight must include the following. 
1. Data collection; monitoring. The commissioner or the commissioner's designee 
is responsible for collecting, analyzing and reporting data from school management and 
leadership education service centers. The commissioner or the commissioner's designee 
shall monitor the performance and legal compliance of the sohool m&na!Iement a,nd 
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leadership education service centers, including collecting and analyzing data to support 
ongoing evaluation of the seheol management and leadership education service centers. 
2. 
Notification of unsatisfactory performance or compliance. 
If a sohool 
management and leadership an education service center's performance or legal 
compliance appears unsatisfactory, the commissioner shall promptly provide written 
notice to the sohool management and leadership education service center and its members 
of perceived problems and provide reasonable opportunity for the seheol management 
and leadership education service center to remedy the problems. The sohool management 
and leadership education service center shall provide the commissioner a corrective 
action plan to remedy the problems. 
§3804. Audit 
A sohool management and leadership An education service center shall adhere to 
generally accepted accounting principles and shall annually engage an external auditor to 
do an independent audit of the sohool management and leadership education service 
center's finances. The seheol management and leadership education service center shall 
submit the audit to its members and to the department. The audit must be conducted in 
the same manner as a school administrative unit audit in accordance with chapter 221, 
subchapter 2. 
§3805. Application for and approval of an education service center 
1. Application. The commissioner shall establish an application process under this 
chapter for the formation of a sohool management and leadership an education service 
center. The application must be in a form and contain such information as required by 
the commissioner, including, but not limited to: 
A. The identification of the school administrative units that are applying to form the 
seheol management and leadership education service center; 
B. The specified structure and governance of the sohool management and leadership 
education service center and its purposes, functions, programs and services; 
C. How any savings resulting from the formation of the sohool manaeement and 
leadershin education service center will be used; and 
D. A copy of the proposed interlocal agreement pursuant to section 3801, subsection 
3. 
2. Commissioner's approval. If an application under this section contains the 
information required pursuant to subsection 1, the commissioner shall notify each school 
administrative unit participating in the seheol management and leadership education 
service center that, pending ¥Ster school board approval as set forth in subsection 3, the 
sohool management and leadership education service center is approved pursuant to this 
chapter. The commissioner shall keep a register of seheol management and leadership 
education service centers that have been approved pursuant to this chapter. 
3. 
School administrative unit approval. 
If the commissioner approves an 
application for a sohool management and leadership an education service center pursuant 
to subsection 2, the sohool management and leadership education service center must 
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receive voter approval using the process specified in the interlocal agreement pursuant to 
l':P.AtiAn 'iSW1. 1snh1s?.AtiA11 'i 11A1'AP1'Anh R .•mhnAl!AP:rAnh rn school board approval. 
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §3806, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. VVVVV, §6, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
§3806. Direct state funding of an education service center 
An education service center receives direct state funds for start-up costs in 
accordance with section 15689, subsection 9. An education service center that provides 
to members at least 2 different services covering a total of at least 2 different categories 
as specified in section 15683-C, subsection 2 must receive annual state support for: 
1. Salary and benefits. Fifty-five percent of the executive director's salary and 
benefits or contracted leadership services, not to exceed 55% of the statewide average 
superintendent's salary and benefits using the most recent data available. For purposes of 
this subsection, "benefits" means the amounts paid by an employer to or on behalf of an 
employee that are not included in salary but augment salary as part of a full compensation 
package and are subject to federal income tax withholding: 
2. Accounting system. An accounting and payroll system or financial software to 
assist with the fiscal management for the education service center; and 
3. Student information system. A student information system. 
The school administrative units that are members of an education service center must 
receive state funds in accordance with section 15683-C. 
Sec. 5. 20-A MRSA §5205, sub-§6-B, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. 
VVVVV, §7, is amended to read: 
6-B. 
Education service center enrollment policies. 
Members in a school 
management and leadership an education service center, as defined in section 3801, 
subsection 1, paragraph B, may adopt a mutual policy allowing the transfer of students, 
with parental approval, among the member school administrative units. 
The mutual 
policy must set forth procedures and standards governing the transfers, including but not 
limited to the school year or years in which the policy applies, application procedures and 
standards of responsibility for transportation and special education. Each member school 
board that adopts the mutual policy under this subsection shall post a copy of the mutual 
policy on the school administrative unit's publicly accessible website and shall provide 
timely notice of the policy to residents of the school administrative unit governed by that 
school board. For the purposes of chapter 606-B, a student transferred under this 
subsection is considered a resident of the school administrative unit to which the student 
transferred. 
Sec. 6. 20-A MRSA §13025, sub-§1, 1C, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 477, §1, is 
amended to read: 
C. "School entity" means an approved private school, school administrative unit, 
public charter school, school management and leadership education service center, 
school in the unorganized territory or school operated by the State. 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·fi "to H.P. 969, L.D. 1341 
Sec. 7. 20-A MRSA §15683-C, as amended by PL 2019, c. 70, §6, is further 
amended to read: 
§15683-C. 
Education service center members; calculation of education service 
center administration allocation and state contribution 
Beginning with fiscal year 2018 19, this This section applies to school administrative 
units that are members of school management and leadership education service centers 
pursuant to chapter 123. 
1. Calculation of education service center per-pupil rate. The commissioner shall 
calculate a per-pupil amount for school management and leadership education service 
center administration. 
The per-pupil amount for school management and leadership 
education service center administration is based on the actual General Fund expenditures 
for school administrative units with 2,500 students or more for the functions of school 
boards, elections and central offices, as defined in the State's accounting handbook for 
local school systems for the most recent year available, excluding expenditures for 
administrative technology-related software and less miscellaneous revenues from other 
local governments, divided by the average of October and April enrollment counts for 
that fiscal year and adjusted by appropriate trends in the Consumer Price Index or other 
comparable index. 
2. Categories of services of education service center. The following are the 
categories of services that a school administrative unit that is a member of a---sweel 
management and leadership an education service center pursuant to chapter 123 may 
purchase for funding purposes under section 3806. 
A. Category 1, appropriate instructional services in the least restrictive settings that 
comply with federal regulations and state rules, including: 
(1) Special education programs and administration; 
(2) Gifted and talented programs and administration; 
(3) Alternative education programs and administration; 
( 4) Shared educational programs or staff; and 
(5) 
Educational programs such as summer school, extended school year, 
tutoring, advanced placement and other programs that serve students and improve 
student achievement. 
B. Category 2, education support services, including the following services: 
(1) Substitute teachers and staff augmentation; 
(2) Technology and technology support; 
(3) Staff training and professional development; 
(5) Shared support services programs; and 
(6) Shared extracurricular or cocurricular programs. 
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C. Category 3, central office services, including the following services: 
(1) Accounting, payroll, financial management services and procurement; 
(2) Reporting functions; 
(3) Food service planning and purchasing; and 
(4) Superintendent services. 
D. Category 4, facilities and transportation system services, including the following 
services: 
(1) Transportation, transportation routing and vehicle maintenance; and 
(2) Energy management and facilities maintenance. 
3. Eligibility for education service center allocation. The commissioner shall 
determine that a school administrative unit is eligible for a sohool management and 
leadership an education service center allocation if according to its sohool management 
and leadership education service center interlocal agreement pursuant to section 3801, 
subsection 3, the school administrative unit purchases at least 2 different services 
covering a total of at least 2 different categories from the ,whnnl mA11::11H1mAnt Ann 
leadership education service center as specified in subsection 2. 
4. Total allocation and state contribution. The commissioner shall dete1mine an 
eligible school administrative unit's total school management and leadership education 
service center allocation under subsection 3 as the school management and leadership 
education service center per-pupil rate in subsection 1 multiplied by the school 
administrative unit's subsidizable pupil count for October 1st of the most recent calendar 
year prior to the year of funding. The state contribution for each school administrative 
unit's school management and leadership education service center allocation is the 
allocation multiplied by the school administrative unit's state share percentage pursuant to 
section 15672, subsection 31, not to exceed 70% and not less than 30%. 
Sec. 8. 20-A MRSA §15689, sub-§9, ,r~ and C, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 
284, Pt. VVVVV, § 11, are amended to read: 
B. For direct support to seheol management and leadership education service centers 
established pursuant to chapter 123 including those costs specified in section 3806; 
and 
C. 
For department costs incurred for the review of applications and interlocal 
agreements for school management and leadership education service centers under 
chapter 123. 
Sec. 9. Role of the Department of Education. In order to provide for the 
orderly implementation of this Act, the Department of Education shall develop an 
application form for the fo1mation of an education service center under the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 3805 and convene an application review team. 
Funds from Title 20-A, section 15689, subsection 9 may be used for the necessary 
expenses of the department in the development and administration of education service 
centers. 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 969, L.D. 1341 
Sec. 10. Transition. A school management and leadership center pursuant to 
Public Law 2017, chapter 284, Part VVWV established before the effective date of this 
Act is deemed to be an education service center under this Act. 
Sec. 11. Maine Revised Statutes headnote amended; revision clause. In 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 123, in the chapter headnote, the words 
11school management and leadership centers" are amended to read "education service 
centers
and the Revisor of Statutes shall implement this revision when updating, 
publishing or republishing the statutes. 
Sec. 12. Maine Revised Statutes amended; revision clause. Wherever in the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A the words "school management and leadership 
center" appear or reference is made to that entity or those words, those words are 
amended to read or mean, as appropriate, 
education service center" and the Revisor of 
Statutes shall implement this revision when updating, publishing or republishing the 
statutes. 1 
SUMMARY 
This amendment retains the substance of the bill but changes the name of regional 
service centers to education service centers, defines "benefits,1' includes public charter 
schools as eligible to be members of education service centers rather than associate 
members and caps the direct state funding for the provider of leadership services or the 
executive director to 55% of the statewide average superintendent1s salary and benefits 
using the most recent data available. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 04/26/19 .Mac.. 
LD 1341 
LR 708(02) 
An Act To Provide Flexibility for Efficient and Effective Management of School Management and 
Leadership Centers 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ,fi{ I/· J..l.5') 
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Additional costs to the Department of Education to implement the requirements of this legislation can be absorbed 
within existing budgeted resources. 
LR0708(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1