JAY — Voters will be asked this month to consider letting the school system use $216,000 they voted last year to have the School Department use to offset a state penalty for not consolidating with another district.

Selectmen decided Monday to hold another special town meeting in February — an open-style meeting — where residents may ask questions before voting. The exact date is expected to be set Tuesday.

A special town meeting — referendum style — will be held Tuesday, Feb. 16, at the town office to elect a new selectman. Absentee ballots are now available.

School Superintendent Robert Wall explained to selectmen Monday the estimated state education subsidy shortfall for the current fiscal year. New estimates show the system will have to cut $484,389.72 from its current $9.75 million budget, if voters don’t approve the use of the $216,000. That will require personnel cuts, he said.

The state Legislature delayed the penalty one year in 2009 for schools not complying with the new school reorganization law after voters agreed to let the school use the money.

Even with the use of the money set aside for the penalty, the school system will need to reduce its current budget by an estimated $268,389.72, Wall said.

They have been conservative with their budget, he said, and have been trying to make it through with as much normal programming for students as possible.

School Committee Chairwoman Mary Redmond-Luce said the School Committee had full intentions of returning the money to the town before the cutbacks on projected state subsidies were announced.

“We really tried to do consolidation … but as you know, when you consolidate, you need a partner,” she said.

Regional School Unit 36 Board of Directors from Livermore and Livermore Falls will be discussing whether they want to go back to talks with Jay on consolidation at its Thursday, Feb. 11, meeting, she said.

The Mt. Blue Regional School District in the Farmington area is in the midst of building two new schools and will not be ready, if they are willing, to discuss consolidation until 2012, she said. That school district has been approved by the state to stand alone with the number of students it has, which was about 2,400 last year.

Selectman Thomas Goding and Chairman Steve McCourt both said it should be the voters that decide if the school system could use the penalty money for education this year. Selectman Warren Bryant agreed.

Wall also shared estimated subsidy shortfall figures for 2010-11 that were released Monday.

Jay is estimated to receive $862,076.26 less in education subsidy and with other factors, Wall said, the schools in Jay stand to lose between $1.2 million and $1.4 million for next year’s budget.

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