The committees planning school-district mergers across Maine are making progress in complying with the state's district consolidation law, an independent analysis of the consolidation mandate shows.

But the study also points to a number of sticking points that have slowed the pace of planning committees' work.

The study, sponsored by a group representing superintendents in Penobscot and Piscatiquis counties, examined the experiences of five committees across Maine working to plan school-district mergers.

Of the committee members researchers interviewed this past spring, 46 percent said their communities were unlikely to approve the merger arrangements when they had the opportunity to vote on them.

The state's school-district consolidation law is an effort to reduce public school administrative expenses. It aims to cut the number of Maine school districts to 80, down from 290.

The survey of planning committee members also revealed doubt about the potential for district consolidation to yield cost savings and improve educational quality.

Researchers concluded that the series of deadlines for consolidation planning left little time to build community support for the consolidation effort.

They also said community fears of losing small local schools, school choice and local control over those schools has limited support for some consolidation plans.

The survey results -- first released in September -- came weeks in advance of November 4, when voters will weigh in on 17 proposed district mergers.

On Friday, a group opposed to the consolidation mandate said it submitted enough signatures to land a consolidation repeal question before voters in November 2009.

A Department of Education spokesman on Friday said those merger planning committees keeping open minds are indeed finding cost savings in complying with the law.

The law exempts districts that are large enough from merging with other school systems. Those that are obligated to merge under the law but do not comply face cuts to their state subsidies as a penalty.