JAY – The regional planning committee studying school consolidation will meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5, at the Cedar Street Learning Complex in Livermore Falls to lay the foundation for an educational partnership between Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls.

Jay has three school buildings, a modular unit, a bus garage, and a bus fleet valued at more than $30 million and more than $3 million in personal property in the schools, with the latter funded mostly by Jay taxpayers. All property of the Jay School Department is owned by the town, some with shared use such as the Community Building, bus garage and recreation fields.

SAD 36 has four school buildings, including the learning center complex that is being used by alternative education, adult education, central office and Head Start, a bus fleet, land and personal property as well.

The district is looking at $8 million in major issues to fix up the high and middle schools and had voter approval to explore building a new junior-senior high school on what is now the school athletic fields. The plan to submit an application came to a halt when the Department of Education and the governor started talking about consolidating schools.

Members of the regional planning committee will get a chance to look at engineering studies of both schools and deficiencies at the next meeting along with the values of SAD 36 properties.

All of the properties in SAD 36 belong to the district, which is a separate entity from the towns of Livermore and Livermore Falls.

Both Jay and SAD 36 representatives will come to Monday’s meeting with what they feel should be protected, what they believe should go to the new school unit and what they could compromise on.