KINGFIELD – A public hearing will be held Thursday on a proposed plan to create the Western Mountains Regional School District that would encompass 16 communities.

Voters in each town in SADs 58 and 9 and Coplin and Highland plantations will have a chance to vote on the reorganization by referendum Nov. 4. Hearings and informational meetings on the plan are being held this month in both districts. Coplin and Highland plantations held hearings last month.

The intent of the state-mandated consolidation is to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

The proposed school district would serve about 3,200 students from Avon, Coplin Plantation, Chesterville, Eustis, Farmington, Highland Plantation, Industry, Kingfield, New Sharon, New Vineyard, Phillips, Strong, Temple, Vienna, Weld and Wilton.

A 45-member planning committee, with representatives from each town, put together a plan. It may be viewed on the Maine Department of Education Web site:www.maine.gov/education/reorg/plansandresponses.html#franklin. Superintendents’ offices in both districts would also make copies available.

The plan calls for a 25 member school board to be created to oversee the new regional school unit. The formula is based on population and it gives Farmington seven members, Wilton four members and the remainder of the towns one each member.

Currently, there are four superintendents and one assistant superintendent in total for the four school systems. Highland and Coplin have superintendents and school boards but pay tuition for their students to attend SAD 58.

The plan calls for a consolidated administrative staff to be put in a centrally located place.

The plan also calls for a cost-sharing formula to be implemented that initially starts with valuation and then phases in a formula based on valuation and residential students over six years. There is also a cost-shift identified that indicates that the SAD 9 towns will pick up substantially more in additional local costs while SAD 58 towns’ shares would decrease.

Both SAD 58 and SAD 9 put out pamphlets, slightly different from each other, on the proposal answering questions that may commonly be asked as well as stating some of the unknowns.

The majority of school directors in both school systems have voted not to support the plan but did vote to submit it to the state as required by law.

If the majority of voters approve the merger Nov. 4, then individual towns would elect new school board members during the spring with the new district beginning operations July 1, 2009.

If the majority of voters don’t approve the proposal, then all school units would be assessed a penalty that is expected to grow each year. The estimated penalty for the year 2009-10 in SAD 9 would be approximately $408,000 and in SAD 58 approximately $125,000. Penalties for Coplin and Highland plantations are estimated at more than $2,000 each.