PARIS – It is SAD 17’s turn to hear the details of the state’s new School Administration Reorganization law.

Representatives of the Department of Education will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School to discuss reorganization of the district and to answer questions.

“I urge all of you to be there and listen very carefully and judge for yourself,” Superintendent Mark Eastman told the Board of Directors solemnly at last week’s meeting.

Earlier this month, SAD 17 officials began an in-depth analysis of what the state’s school consolidation plan will mean to residents and particularly taxpayers in its member towns. The review includes SAD 39 budgets plus state subsidies so officials can better understand the ramifications of the consolidation plan that recommends the merger of SAD 17 and SAD 39, which includes Buckfield, Sumner and Hartford.

The law was enacted in June to ensure that schools be organized as units in order to provide “equitable educational opportunities, rigorous academic programs, uniformity in delivering programs, a greater uniformity in tax rates, more efficient and effective use of limited resources, preservation of school choice and maximum opportunity to deliver services in an efficient manner,” DOE officials said. But local officials have been asking how those promises will be practically implemented.

“Consolidation has been the most frequently asked question,” Eastman said recently.

SADs 17 and 39 already share programs such as adult education classes, and recently approved a one-year pilot program to share the SAD 39 superintendent with SAD 17 as a half-time assistant superintendent, but officials say the ramification of the merger are far reaching.

School districts have until Aug. 31 to decide who they will partner with and submit that decision in their notice of intent to the Department of Education. The decision must be approved by a referendum. Financial penalties will be placed on districts that do not conform to the new law.

At Tuesday’s meeting, participants will be provided an overview of the law and the roles and responsibilities of local and state officials. Forty minutes will be saved for questions and answers.

The department is holding a series of regional informational meetings across the state during a three-week period to tell the public how the law will be implemented and to answers questions.