AOS plan moves forward

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HODGDON — The proposed consolidation between SADs 70 and 14, along with Orient and Bancroft, continues to move forward after both school boards voted in favor of a plan that would create an AOS (Alternative Organizational Structure) for the two districts.
    The SAD 70 school board gave its unanimous approval to the plan on Nov. 16, while SAD 14 signed off on the plan Nov. 17. According to SAD 70 Superintendent Bob McDaniel, the plan was sent to the state’s Education Commissioner on Nov. 18 for review.
    “I received an email today [Monday] from the state with a few suggestions and corrections that need to be made,” McDaniel said. “There were a few spelling errors that needed to be fixed and some other language that needs to be sured up a bit.”
    McDaniel said he received no indication that the Commissioner of Education would not approve the plan once the language was cleaned up.
    Included in the AOS plan is a clause that would allow either of the two school districts to leave the AOS at some point in the future, without the permission of the Commissioner of Education. Although this clause contradicts the state law on AOS proposals, McDaniel said at least one other existing AOS — AOS 95 in the St. John Valley — removed that language when creating their plan and that plan was approved by the Commissioner of Education.
    Once the final plan is approved, the districts will hold a public referendum on the issue. That referendum is expected to take place in late-January.