When the full Legislature convenes again in January, legislators will be presented with a laundry list of amendments to the state’s new school consolidation law.

In November, the Department of Education recommended the law be changed so that property-rich communities would continue to get the minimum subsidy from the state. The department is also recommending the state drop a requirement that would force every community to contribute at least 2 mils toward the cost of education. This week the department is getting behind a recommendation from the Education Committee that the state delay a portion of the law that would require all school budgets be approved in a referendum.

In the meantime, school district administrators are trying to pull together budgets for the next year, tailor them to meet the requirements of the new law and plan for a public vote that may or may not take place. That’s just the to-do list for districts not in the middle of consolidation talks with neighboring districts.

With such a muddled process, it’s amazing any work is actually getting done. Watching all of this from the sidelines, it’s difficult not ask a serious question: Is this any way to go about some of the most sweeping changes school districts have faced in decades?

The new school consolidation law is a bold and progressive step for this state that carries with it the promise of saving taxpayers money by eliminating duplicated services, but accomplishing that goal will require strong leadership and clear direction from Augusta.

It doesn’t appear local school districts are getting that. For example, Scarborough Superintendent David Doyle said this week that the law would have required school districts to break their budgets down for the referendum into 11 cost centers, but it was unclear what exactly was to be included in each of those. “We didn’t have very clear direction,” Doyle said Tuesday.

In South Portland, the City Council voted Monday to centralize polling places for special elections, a move that was designed to help control costs of referendums that would be required under the consolidation law.

School officials from Westbrook, Windham and Raymond planned to meet with representatives from the Department of Education Wednesday to get answers to questions they need to proceed with talks over merging those three districts.

Consolidating the state’s 290 school districts into fewer than 80 is undoubtedly an incredibly complex and daunting task. Any plan is bound to have some flaws, and it’s good the Department of Education has shown a willingness to make changes.

However, if deadlines are moving targets and the specifics of the law are constantly changing, it’s going to make negotiations between school districts quite difficult. That’s the last thing school districts need. Reaching an agreement on how two or more school districts should merge will be hard enough, because districts will essentially be reorganizing the management of school programs, buildings and hundreds of employees. Without a clear set of goals and deadlines to meet, it’s going to be impossible.

In January, legislators will need to take the recommendations they have before them and come up with a plan that has realistic deadlines and achievable goals. Then, the Department of Education has to make sure districts have the information and tools they need to follow it.

Brendan Moran, editor