PHILLIPS -– A memo sent out by MSAD #58 Superintendent Quenten Clark to school board members as well as legislators, indicates that this district is running out of options. Those options relate to the reorganization laws and the conditions imposed on meeting the requirements of that law.

“As you know, the attempt to work out a viable consolidation plan with MSAD #9 encountered obstacles that were impossible to overcome. Rangeley has been granted ‘island in the sky’ status,” he wrote.

Carrabassett Valley has no need to join with anybody and funding differences make any prospect of working with MSAD #74 very unlikely to succeed, he explained.

There seems to be three viable options for continued work on school consolidation to meet the needs and demands of the law, Clark said. All of which require action by the legislature. Until that can happen we are at a standstill, he said.

If the state is willing to proceed with legislative action, we will need to form a committee to explore these options and develop a consolidation plan, Clark said.

Clark offered options to comply with the law in a continuing attempt to avoid the penalties of as much as $130,000 to his district.

Some options of were already previously dismissed by the Maine Department of Education for various reasons. Such as his first legislative request of having Highland and Coplin plantations join his district which could save as much as $6,000 annually by eliminating redundancy in local administration. This idea was rejected by the DOE due to a lack of students to meet the requirements of the law.

Clark also offered combining Highland, the Town of Coplin and the Unorganized Territories in Franklin and Somerset counties to join the district as a second option. Other Unorganized Territories could join other local school units.

Clarks says this will eliminate the need for a separate UT administration in Augusta and would save the state over $370,000 in administrative salaries and benefits. Currently five people work in the central office administering UT students in Augusta. Additional savings are likely, he explained.

“It could be structured to give UT residents a voice on the school board,” Clark said.

Currently UT parents have no say in school board or legislative decisions or actions and this could give them an equitable voice.

Also, Clarks says it would move administration closer to the communities involved. MSAD #58 administration is closer to children in the UT and already educates more than 350 students from this geographic region.

Obstacles are obvious in maintaining such a district, but are able to easily overcome, he states.

What Clark is really looking for as his third option, is to engage all UT students in the state to join his district in a mass savings in reorganization efforts. This again eliminates the need for separate UT administration saving the state over $370,000 in administrative salaries and benefits. This again could be structured to give all state-wide UT residents a voice on the school board.

“SAD 58 has the ability to videoconference from any its schools with the Rockwood School,” as an example he provided. “DOE does not. This would facilitate delivery of content to children, parent involvement and supervision and professional development to staff.

As the vast majority of students already attend MSAD #58 schools this should not require extra staff in SAD 58, Clark wrote.

Clark also suggested that they could maintain the UT as a separate unit in an AOS, union or other configuration managed from Phillips instead of Augusta. Sharing administrative costs would reduce those costs for both administrative units.

MSAD #58 has run out of options and most any consolidation effort will require changes in the state law by legislators.

Clark said that any possible consolidation action will require significant time and effort to work out the specifics of any one plan.