AOS in Maine: Where Do We Go From Here?

MSMA

September 9, 2026

AOS in Maine: Where Do We Go From Here?

A 90-Minute Conversation for AOS Superintendents, Board Chairs, & School Board Members

Tuesday, October 6, 2026 | 1:00 PM

Hosted by Maine School Management Association (on site at their Augusta office, or virtually via Zoom - please contact msma@msmaweb.com for the Zoom link)

No Cost to Attend - please RSVP by Friday, October 2, 2026, to msma@msmaweb.com.  

Maine’s Alternate Organizational Structure (AOS) was created in 2007 with a specific purpose and vision for how school administrative units could work together to provide educational services more efficiently and effectively. It was an ‘alternative’ to a push at the time for SAUs to organize into RSUs (Regional School Units). There are currently 8 AOSs in Maine.

But Maine’s educational landscape has changed considerably since then.

Is the AOS model still meeting the needs it was designed to address, or is it time to take a fresh look?

Maine School Management Association invites superintendents, board chairs, and school board members serving within an AOS to join us for a candid, informative 90-minute conversation about the past, present, and future of AOSs in Maine.

Questions We’ll Explore

  • What was the genesis of the AOS? Why was this organizational structure created in 2007?

  • What was the original intent and purpose of an AOS?

  • How have the conditions facing Maine schools and school administrative units changed since AOSs were first established?

  • Are AOSs becoming obsolete, or does the model continue to provide meaningful benefits?

  • What are the actual advantages and efficiencies of operating within an AOS?

  • Is there a better organizational structure that could more effectively and efficiently serve the individual SAUs nested within an AOS?

  • What impact, if any, do recent changes to Maine’s EPS funding formula have on an AOS?

  • How were the inter-local agreements developed when your AOS was created?

  • What happens when individual SAUs are no longer operating in accordance with the original inter-local agreement?

  • Can an AOS have multiple inter-local agreements governing different SAUs within the same AOS?

  • Is it possible that an AOS structure can actually cost the participating SAUs more money rather than creating efficiencies?

  • What are other AOSs doing today to function effectively and as efficiently as possible? What is working—and what isn't?

Learn From Your Colleagues

This session is not intended simply to look backward. It is an opportunity to look honestly at where AOSs are today and consider where they should go from here.

Come prepared to share your experiences, raise questions, and learn from other AOS superintendents and school board members about how different AOSs are functioning across Maine.

We will also be joined by:

Paula Gravelle
Director of Public School Funding
Maine Department of Education 

Denise Towers
School Finance Compliance Coordinator
Maine Department of Education

Paula and Denise will help answer your questions regarding the legal, organizational, and financial considerations surrounding AOSs and their relationships with participating SAUs.

This Conversation Is For You If…

  • You serve on an AOS board, serve as a superintendent within an AOS, or are a school board member wondering whether your current organizational structure is still the best structure for your community, or

  • You are new in your position and want to have a better understanding of the organizational structure under which you lead (as either a superintendent or board member).

Bring your questions. Bring your experiences. Bring an open mind.

This is an opportunity to step back from the day-to-day operation of your school administrative unit and ask a fundamental question:

Is the AOS structure still the best way to organize and deliver educational services in Maine?

Tuesday, October 6, 2026
1:00 PM
90 minutes
No cost to attend - please RSVP by Friday, October 2, 2026, to msma@msmaweb.com. 

Hosted by Maine School Management Association at their Augusta office (49 Community Drive) or via Zoom. 

For additional information, contact Eric Waddell, Executive Director, Maine School Management Association/Maine School Boards Association at ewaddell@msmaweb.com.