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The letters of intent in many cases express more than one possibility.

By PAUL CARRIER Staff Writer September 1, 2007

AUGUSTA — A deadline for school districts to submit consolidation plans to the state came and went Friday with some districts saying they had not yet decided what to do.

The letters of intent that local districts had to file with the Department of Education stem from a cost-cutting plan the Legislature approved earlier this year to trim the number of school districts from 290 to about 80.

By the end of the day Friday, 267 districts had submitted one or more letters, according to a department spokesman. A complete list will be released Tuesday.

Under state law, districts with fewer than 2,500 students must merge unless they are high-performing and highly efficient schools, are located on islands or serve Indian tribes.

Districts may be exempted if they cannot find merger partners or if it is impractical for them to merge for economic, geographic or other specified reasons.

Letters submitted to the state by school districts in southern Maine show that some, including districts in Portland, South Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough and Sanford, plan to retain their independence, according to a summary released by the state Department of Education. Districts that decline to consolidate will still have to submit plans to the state showing how they will cut costs.

At the same time, the list shows that officials in some districts in southern Maine have agreed to merge, subject to voter approval. Voters in the affected communities are supposed to vote on the mergers in local referendums by Jan. 15.

Officials in Arrowsic, Bath, Georgetown, Phippsburg, West Bath and Woolwich want to form a combined district, according to letters of intent submitted to the state. So do Old Orchard Beach, Arundel, Saco and Dayton.

But the list also shows that merger plans are fluid in many districts that submitted multiple options.

For example, Yarmouth says it could remain independent, merge with Falmouth and School Administrative District 51, which includes Cumberland and North Yarmouth, or, as a third option, consolidate with Freeport and Pownal.

York indicated that it might join forces with Kittery or with the Wells-Ogunquit school district. Brunswick could go it alone, or link up with Durham. And SAD 75, which includes Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Harpswell and Topsham, has yet to decide whether to remain independent or hook up with Lisbon, according to the Department of Education.

"Most of us recognize that this is no easy thing to do" and that some districts will need more time to sort out their options, said Rep. Jacqueline Norton, D-Bangor, who co-chairs the Legislature's Education Committee.

At least one entry on the state's list, for SAD 15 in Gray/New Gloucester, is wrong because it fails to mention that the district is considering both a stand-alone option and a possible merger.

The state misread that district's letter, according to the Department of Education.

Moreover, some plans that appear to be concrete at first blush are less firm than the letters of intent might suggest.

For example, the Wells-Ogunquit district listed York as a merger partner in its letter. But Wells-Ogunquit Superintendent Edward McDonough said Friday his school board will discuss Kittery as an alternative next week.

Similarly, SAD 60 in Berwick, Lebanon and North Berwick said in its letter it plans to remain independent. But Superintendent Paul Andrade said Friday the district hasn't ruled out merging with Acton.

Friday's deadline "is kind of drawing the window down," but it isn't closed yet, McDonough said. "I don't think the state would be upset if we brought other people in for a discussion after the deadline."

"I think it's part of the process that folks are being deliberate," so multiple options are not surprising at this stage, Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said Friday.

But she also said time is running out.

"They really need to choose their partner by...