School boards around the greater Franklin County area have voted to submit preliminary plans to consolidate school systems in an effort to meet the state’s Saturday, Dec. 1, deadline.

It’s all part of the state law to reduce the number of school systems from 290 to about 80.

However, many school and municipal officials, and residents say too many questions remain, including the major one, cost sharing. The Legislature is set to take up emergency bills on the law in December.

Voters in all towns involved will eventually have the final say on merging school systems.

Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls are working to consolidate Jay and SAD 36 systems into one.

Jay School Committee members voted unanimously Thursday to submit a partial plan to reorganize with Livermore and Livermore Falls.

SAD 36 directors also voted unanimously Thursday to submit a partial plan on behalf of the regional planning committee to form Regional School Unit 40.

SAD 58 directors voted 6-3 Wednesday to submit a preliminary reorganization plan to form the Western Mountains Regional School District with SAD 9 and Coplin and Highland plantations. It would have 16 towns.

SAD 9 directors voted 8-4 Tuesday in favor of it.

Coplin Plantation school Superintendent Lorrie Arruda, who is also Stratton Elementary School principal, said that the Coplin school board unanimously voted to send in the preliminary plan to join SAD 9, SAD 58, and Highland Plantation last week.

Highland Plantation school Superintendent Brenda Stevens, also principal of Kingfield Elementary School, said Highland’s board also voted unanimously to send in the plan.

The Rangeley Lakes Regional School system Superintendent Phil Richardson said after attempts with other school districts including SADs 9, 58, 43, 21 and 44 fell through the towns in Union 37 have agreed to an alternate plan.

Union 37 is made up of Rangeley and plantations of Rangeley, Dallas and Sandy River in Franklin County and Lincoln and Magalloway plantations in Oxford County. The latter plantations are more than 30 miles away from the Rangeley school.

“Since no one wants us, we have submitted a six-town alternate plan to form our own (school system), Richardson said Thursday.

Other districts don’t want Rangeley, he said, because Rangeley and Rangeley Plantation have a lot of waterfront property that leads to higher valuations, Richardson said. That factor is what is driving the financial aspects of how much each town would have to pay if towns consolidated school systems.

“I hope the Legislature does something to iron out this financial thing,” he said.

Rangeley has the second highest valuation in Franklin County, he said, and Rangeley Plantation is the fifth, Richardson said. Jay has the highest valuation. Carrabassett Valley is the third highest followed by Farmington.

Carrabassett Valley Town Manager Dave Cota said the town’s School Committee did send a letter indicating that it would stand alone and continue to pay tuition for its students. The board did ask SADs 9 and 58 for consolidation consideration but were more or less denied, Cota said.

The town has no public school but does pay tuition for half of its high school students to attend the private Carrabassett Valley Academy and the rest to SAD 58, Cota said.