FARMINGTON - Residents in the towns making up SAD 9 and SAD 58, and Coplin and Highland plantations will be asked to consider consolidating the four school systems into one at a referendum Tuesday, Nov. 4.

The regional school planning committee has voted to hold the consolidation vote on Election Day to form the proposed Western Mountains School District consisting of students from the 16 communities.

The planning committee worked for months to develop the proposal to unite the school systems to be overseen by a 25-member regional school board with representation from each community on it.

School systems face state penalties if they don't meet state law.

The timeline for the referendum requires the proposed plan to be submitted by Aug. 25 to the Maine Department of Education. The commissioner has reviewed the plan and sent it back to the planning panel for some tweaking, which has been completed.

Public hearings on the plan will be held prior to Oct. 28.

As of June 10, 20 reorganization plans statewide had been approved by the Department of Education.

The proposed Western Mountains School District plan is listed as 'meets criteria' and the plan status as 'in progress' on the state Web site.

It can be found at www.maine.gov/education/reorg/plansandresponses.html

Jay and SAD 36 towns of Livermore and Livermore Falls regional planning committee have yet to reconvene since November when they submitted a preliminary plan. That plan calls for a 10-member school board with representation of five members from Jay, three from Livermore Falls and two from Livermore. Administrators from the two systems have been working to find shared resources.

The state lists that preliminary plan as meets criteria and plan status as in progress.

The planning committee for Union 37 towns, which encompasses Rangeley and plantations of Rangeley, Dallas, Sandy River, Magalloway and Lincoln, has proposed to stay together and not consolidate with another district due to lack of other partners. The state lists the regional planning committee proposal as not meeting criteria and is not in compliance with regulations, according to the state Web site.

Commissioner Susan Gendron encouraged the planning committee in a letter to seek out towns in SAD 44 in the Bethel area and the towns of Gilead and Upton to discuss school reorganization.

Carrabassett Valley's plan is to remain on its own, also due to lack of partners, and continue to pay tuition for its students to attend SAD 58. It also does not meet criteria and the plan does not comply to regulations, the state Web site indicates.

Gendron wrote that the town does not meet the criteria of an isolated community and recommended discussion with other school planning committees about joining those systems or develop an alternative plan that meets state guidelines.

Planning committees and superintendents in the towns serving Union 37 and Carrabassett Valley are working on the issues.

If school plans do not meet the referendum guideline for the Nov. 4 vote, there is also a last option of voting on consolidation on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2009.

A proposed plan would need to be submitted by Dec. 15 with public hearings to be held by Jan. 20 and Jan. 23, 2009, depending on whether it is a municipal school, a union or school administrative district.