AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - The Maine Department of Education says it's received nearly two dozen proposals from 102 schools that want to launch new regional centers.
Many Maine schools have been working to share resources with other schools for years, but Republican Gov. Paul LePage's administration pushed lawmakers this year to create incentives for such efforts.
The education department says this month it will be reviewing applications for nine to 12 new regional service centers. The state would cover 100 percent of the costs of accounting, payroll and a student information system. State funding would also cover 55 percent of an executive director's salary and benefits.
Lawmakers passed a two-year, roughly $7 billion budget that would gradually decrease state funding for school administration costs while aiming to increase funding for instruction.
