FARMINGTON – A resolution that rails against Gov. John Baldacci’s proposed plan to consolidate school districts was passed unanimously by the SAD 9 board Tuesday night.

The proposed plan to consolidate the 152 current Maine school districts into 26 regions was the primary focus of the board, with some members hedging against the resolution.

Provided by the Maine School Management Association, the resolution presented six key areas of concern about the consolidation plan and the effect it would have on Maine schools. The resolution contends that the governor’s plan has promised financial savings, based on assumption and conjecture, that do not take the students’ best interests into account with regard to the immense size of the proposed regions. It also states the plan: Does not include those affected most in the decision-making processes, has an unreasonable time frame with regard to implementation, does not consider school employees whose positions would be eliminated, and excludes voters at the local level.

The strong wording of the proposed resolution did not sit well with some board members. “I’m not particularly comfortable with the tenor of the resolution,” said Jo Josephson of Temple.

She then proposed an amendment to the resolution stating that the board would be willing to work with state officials on different collaboration and consolidation proposals.

“This resolution was drafted specifically to be opposed to the governor’s proposal,” responded Neil Stinneford of Weld.

He went on to ensure Josephson that the introductory paragraph of the resolution made clear that collaboration and consolidation are not being rejected wholesale, but would be considered a viable option under different circumstances.

The board voted down Josephson’s amendment and unanimously approved the resolution as written.

In other business, the board reviewed new policies regarding standards for athletics and other extracurricular activities. The new policies deal with things like sportsmanship, relations with booster groups and student eligibility requirements.

“We do not have a formal policy on this,” said Superintendent Michael Cormier, regarding the first proposed policy about SAD 9’s athletic philosophy. Cormier described many of the proposed policies as concrete versions of rules and expected conduct that has long been assumed by SAD 9 regarding extracurricular activities. He was anxious to formalize them all to have a concrete and reviewable policy in place. The board voted to accept all of the proposals as a first reading and sent them back for revision and further discussion.