KINGFIELD – SAD 58 school directors plan to leave the state’s school consolidation effort alone, now that voters in both their district and SAD 9 have rejected the idea.

Voters in all but three of 16 communities posed to create the Western Mountains Regional School District nixed the idea to join into one school system by an unofficial vote of 7,215-5,047 on Nov. 4.

“We’re going to leave it alone and see where it goes,” SAD 58 Chairman Mike Pond said Friday.

The state reorganization law says if you file a letter of intent, a regional school planning committee has to put a package together and submit it to voters, Pond said.

The district has done that and voters have spoken, he said.

SAD 58 faces a penalty of $125,000 loss of subsidy next year.

The board met Thursday night and doesn’t want to pursue anything in relation to consolidation, Superintendent Quenten Clark said Friday.

Clark said he called the state and because the voters voted on the proposal and decided against it, then they have done what the law required.

“We have followed the law to its logical conclusion,” Clark said.

According to the state Department of Education Web site “only the voters can opt out of reorganization.”

If a plan is put to the voters and the voters reject it, the site states, then the district has followed the requirements of the law and can knowingly opt out.

Those communities will face reduced state subsidy but will not be in violation of the law.

SAD 58 directors plan to wait and see what goes on with the consolidation effort before making any decisions, Clark said.

Unknown is what is going to happen to the law if signatures on a petition presented to the state to repeal the reorganization law are confirmed. If they are confirmed the repeal initiative is expected to go before voters statewide.

Another issue, Clark said, is what partners are available.

Most school districts are already in the process of working with other partners, he said.