Maine Revised Statutes Title 20-A. Education § 8452. Cooperative board; formation

1. Structure of cooperative board. The school boards of the units located in a region, at a joint meeting called by the commissioner, shall decide for the region by majority vote:

2. Role of municipal officers. The municipal officers of each unit in the region must be invited to the joint meeting to present testimony on cooperative board membership and on the methods of sharing costs among the units in the region.

3. Voting. The school board of each unit shall caucus with the municipal officers of that unit. Thereafter, in the joint meeting, each school board shall cast its votes on the issues identified in subsection 1 in accordance with the majority vote of the caucus of the school board and municipal officers. Each school board has one vote on each of the issues identified in subsection 1.

4. Process of appeal. Within 30 days of the date of the joint meeting, a school board may appeal to the state board any decision reached at the joint meeting on an issue identified in subsection 1. The state board decision is final and binding on the school administrative units within the region.

5. Appointment of cooperative board members. After the school boards of the units in a region have decided the issues identified in subsection 1, the superintendent of each unit in the region shall call a meeting of the school board for the unit. At that meeting the school board shall appoint its authorized number of members to the cooperative board.

6. Organization of the cooperative board. The cooperative board is organized as follows.

7. Filing return with state board. The secretary of the cooperative board shall immediately file a return with the state board identifying the names of the members and officers of the cooperative board and certifying that the cooperative board has been properly organized.

8. Issuance of certificate of approval. In response to a return filed pursuant to subsection 7, the state board shall issue a certificate of approval for the organization of the region. The issuance of the certificate is conclusive evidence of the lawful organization of the region. The original certificate must be kept on file with the secretary of the region, and copies must be placed on file in the office of the commissioner.