POLAND – On Thursday, Union 29 school Superintendent Dennis Duquette received two letters from Education Commissioner Susan Gendron.

One said the consolidation for Union 29 (Poland-Mechanic Falls-Minot) met the new consolidation law. Another letter said it had not.

The reason for the different responses is, like several school units, Union 29 submitted multiple plans.

“We filed three,” Duquette said. The state didn’t respond to one of them. In the other two, one did meet the consolidation law, one did not, Duquette explained Friday.

The rejected plan was to merge with SAD 39’s Buckfield-Sumner-Hartford schools. The plan Gendron gave a green light to was for Union 29 to merge with SAD 15, or Gray-New Gloucester schools.

That’s what Poland-Minot-Mechanic Falls schools will pursue, Duquette said, as long as it’s affordable. Using state data to merge would cost Gray-New Gloucester taxpayers quite a bit more, $1.2 million.

“That’s on face value,” Duquette said. The costs don’t consider savings made as consolidations form and positions or services are eliminated or combined. Current financial projects are also looking at the amount of state education funding, which is now determined by a community’s property valuations.

Gendron said her department is working with school units worried about merging with others because of higher costs.

Some superintendents are applying the state funding formula “and making assumptions it’s going to shift costs. That’s not the case,” Gendron said. “We’re asking all communities who have that concern to verify their analysis with our department.”

Gov. John Baldacci said Gendron will be reaching to help districts, that there’s more opportunity for savings to offset any costs.

– Bonnie Washuk