JAY — A motion to submit a plan for consolidating Jay and RSU 36 school systems to the state failed for lack of a second Thursday, after disagreement about the makeup of a new school board.

Jay would have six members on a new board, Livermore would have three, and Livermore Falls four. The makeup is based on population of each town and comes as close as possible to meet one person, one vote, Jay Superintendent Robert Wall said.

Jay’s six directors would each represent 790.17 people; Livermore’s three would each represent 734 people; and Livermore Falls’ would each represent 782.25 people, according to the plan.

“I think it should be more equal,” School Committee member Darcie Comstock said of the numbers of Jay members proposed to be on the board. Three other members concurred.

Committee member Michael Schaedler said he wants Jay to have one more board member so Jay could stop any proposal it deemed unacceptable.

He said he believes people still want to consolidate, but there are concerns that Jay would be paying most of the money for the portion above the state’s funding model but not have a block of votes to halt an issue.

“I don’t believe it’s good for the town of Jay to have the majority of their budget controlled by a majority vote from out of town,” Schaedler said.

Currently, Jay pays 100 percent of the money its school system exceeds under the state’s essential programs and service funding model, Chairwoman Mary Redmond-Luce said.

If the two systems merge, the plan decreases the amount Jay would pay for the funding formula to 71.1 percent, and Livermore and Livermore Falls would pay more, $13,000 to $14,000 each, she said.

Each town would still be required to pay its share of the regular budget.

“I just don’t believe you are going to get people to vote for that,” Schaedler said. “I would have a problem not being able to stop somebody from hurting us,” he said. “We’ve got good schools here in Jay. I want to keep it that way.”

Regional Planning Committee Chairman Clint Boothby said he was on the SAD 36 board for 12 years and he only saw the board vote once along town lines. That was when Fayette pulled out of the district.

“It’s not dollars and votes, it’s number of people and votes,” Boothby, of Livermore, said. “It’s about how the people on the board feel about issues affecting children.”

“When I look at consolidation, we get rid of us and them. We are a new unit and will provide the best education we possibly can,” Jay Vice Chairwoman Tammy Dwinal-Shufelt said. “Sometimes making change is hard and I look at it as an opportunity.”

RSU 36 Superintendent Sue Pratt said Thursday’s vote is only to submit the plan so the voters in all three towns can vote on it. In order for the configuration of the board to change, the regional planning committee for consolidation will need to review it.

Both school boards need to approve sending the plan to the state Department of Education commissioner for review and acceptance before it goes to voters in all three towns Jan. 25.

RSU 36 board members will take up the plan at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, at the central office.

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