JAY – Town Manager Ruth Marden has written to Gov. John Baldacci asking for help in getting the state’s school funding figures released to Jay so a new town-meeting date can be set.

Already the scheduled April 23 referendum has been postponed to May 7, and since then, that day, too, has gone by the wayside.

Town officials now are looking at mid- to late-May, if the figures are received immediately or soon, Town Clerk Ronda Palmer said.

There is a long time period required for a referendum posting, which has to allow for the warrant to be finalized and posted and absentee ballots to be available for 30 days prior to the official voting day, Marden said.

The state figures were due out by law Feb. 1, but there are unknowns at the legislative level as lawmakers grapple with consolidation proposals, a projected downward revenue forecast, and possibly providing less funding than originally projected in general purpose aid.

The state still plans to get the school funding figures out soon, said David Connerty-Marin, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Education.

They’re working to get a range of funding numbers together to send to school systems and towns, he said.

Marden told the governor in her letter that not having the figures, “Puts the town of Jay, as well as other schools and towns, in a difficult situation as we have the school as a department of the town and these figures are necessary for us to move forward with the budget process.”

She has asked the governor to intervene on the town’s behalf.