MONMOUTH – Taxpayers are invited to a Wednesday meeting to learn about plans for the Monmouth schools to consolidate with three other districts.

Residents will also hear about a referendum to approve this year’s school budget.

A referendum on both the consolidation and school budget, which have to be approved by voters, will be held June 10.

Topics covered Wednesday will include what is regional school consolidation, why Monmouth should merge with Dresden, Farmingdale, Hallowell and Richmond, and what is a “budget validation meeting/hearing” and subsequent vote process.

With the number of students in Maine falling, Gov. John Baldacci has said Maine’s 290 school districts are too many and the administrative costs are too high.

That led to the state consolidation law, which says school systems with fewer than 2,500 students must merge with other districts by July 1, 2009.

A plan submitted to the Maine Department of Education would consolidate school districts that cover Monmouth, Richmond, Dresden, Hallowell and Farmingdale into the Kennebec Intra-District Schools System, or KIDS.

Monmouth School Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said the proposed plan “is the only option we have to retain some local identify in schools.”

Merging with Richmond, Dresden, Hallowell and Farmingdale will mean “we will not get swallowed up,” Rogers said. Because of the distance between the towns, no one town would be able to dominate, he said.

Aside from retaining local identity, the other school districts are similar in size and values, Rogers said.

Monmouth schools Superintendent Leon Duff said most people in Monmouth know there’s a consolidation going on, but don’t know enough about it.

“They should know the implications, both positive and negative, about forming a regional school unit,” he said.

One benefit will be that there’ll be better sharing of programs. “For the students that has to be a benefit, as well as the taxpayer,” Duff said. One negative is that it will not, at least initially, save money, Duff said.

“Eventually there should be savings, but not in the startup” because the new system cannot close schools, and there’ll be some costs to merge. Startup costs for Monmouth will include more money to begin consolidating labor contracts and financial reports between the five towns.

By July 2009, there would only be one superintendent for the new district.

“It won’t be me,” Duff said with a chuckle. At age 72, he said he’s tried to retire three times. Duff now works two days a week. The only full-time superintendent in the four districts is the one for Hall-Dale, Duff said.

The school budget is not on Wednesday’s agenda, Duff said. Spending is going up by 8.3 percent, to $7.72 million from last year’s $7.12 million. State taxpayers would spend $222,000 more for Monmouth schools next year, town taxpayers $471,615 more, Duff said.

The biggest reasons why the budget is up are higher teachers salaries and health benefits, Duff said.

The consolidation information meeting will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Monmouth Academy. Child care will be provided.

For more information, contact Monmouth School Committee Chairman Mike Rogers at [email protected].