Soon.

That’s the reply from the Maine Department of Education, to when, oh when, it will release funding figures to school districts. DOE spokesman David Connerty-Marin said “soon” to the Sun Journal on March 14, and again Tuesday, March 20.

Statute requires the state to provide these figures by Feb. 1, and this seven-week delay is causing consternation, especially where schools are included as a municipal department, such as in Lewiston, Auburn, and Jay.

Ruth Marden, the town manager in Jay, finally sent an exasperated note to Gov. John Baldacci about this quandary on March 19. “We had to postpone our town meeting,” wrote Marden. “When the [DOE] is contacted, they tell us not to call or contact them, for the figures are not available, and they are not very nice about it.”

The town is squeezing its normal 45-day budget process up against the end of the fiscal year, July 1, and every day the state is silent, the town sweats a little more. An April 23 referendum has now been pushed to mid May.

Holding up the funding figures is the Legislature’s massive review of proposed school consolidation plans, now mired before the Appropriations Committee. Until its details are set, the DOE is worried about releasing any potential funding schemes, for fear of causing budget havoc if incorrect, or if things change.

“With all the discussion going on, it’s unclear what the funding will be,” said Connerty-Marin. For example, he added, the DOE is committed to funding 55 percent of education, but the increments toward which the agency will “ramp up” to that level over the coming years remains unset.

The DOE, perhaps, will offer a potential range of funding, and then urge school districts to budget conservatively, said Connerty-Marin. In Jay, Marden said a range is useless for the town’s ballot, and says town services will be threatened if the conversation continues much longer in Augusta.

Without a budget in place on July 1, she said, Jay could start shutting down, starting, perhaps, with its summer slate of recreation offerings, which begin – coincidentally – the first week of July.

“It’s frustrating,” said Marden, who noted Jay’s municipal and school spending has declined because of state actions, like LD 1. If the town is going to abide by state mandates, she added, the state should adhere to its own.

She’s right, and the Department of Education will have a mess on its hands if deliberation over consolidation leads to budget crises. Instead of offering vague estimates, the DOE should guarantee current funding levels so schools can plan effectively.

Maine needs the finest school consolidation proposal possible, not one hastily concoted to meet a deadline, nor one that threatens school and municipal services. To achieve this, the DOE must resolve the funding impasse today.

Not soon.