Maine School District Consolidation (Bangor, Kennebunk: insuring, how much, homes)
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I am new to this issue as we are starting to plan our move. On first glance, it seems the idea of consolidating the districts to save money makes sense. However, is there a chance that schools themselves will be consolidated as well thus forcing the closures of some schools and making others a lot bigger? Or will schools remain intact and only districts will be combined? Any information and opinions on this issue would be greatly appreciated.
I am new to this issue as we are starting to plan our move. On first glance, it seems the idea of consolidating the districts to save money makes sense. However, is there a chance that schools themselves will be consolidated as well thus forcing the closures of some schools and making others a lot bigger? Or will schools remain intact and only districts will be combined? Any information and opinions on this issue would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Riley,
As I understand it, the number of school districts in Maine will be reduced from 290 to 80 by 7/1/09, a significant change. It is estimated that 600 to 1,000 teaching positions and approximately 800 Central Office positions will be eliminated statewide resulting in savings of $36.5 million a year. Of course not everybody agrees with these figures, as some argue that costs will increase to administer across such large geographic areas in the rural part of the state. In any event, it will be interesting to watch the act play out over the next 24 months.
To All Residents about Education, respone to whofanme
"As I understand it, the number of school districts in Maine will be reduced from 290 to 80 by 7/1/09, a significant change. It is estimated that 600 to 1,000 teaching positions and approximately 800 Central Office positions will be eliminated statewide resulting in savings of $36.5 million a year."-Whofanme
I would think anyone who knew how to type, read, and write would see the value in learning these valuable assets.
Eliminating teachers out of classrooms with a state average of 10-12 children where they have an opportunity to truly learn and putting them into a school sometimes an hour away by bus where there will be 30+ CHILDREN TO CLASS may make economic sense to someone whom:
A. Has no school age child nor one bound for school in the next few years.
B. Is an out of State resident with a "10 bedroom multi-million dollar home" in (Blue Hill, Steuben, Brooklin, Harpswell, Kennebunkport, or Bar Harbor), who has lobbied The Legislature, The Senate, or The Governor to do this in an effort to reduce their "shorefront tax levy" as the owners of these "summer cottages" have unfettered access to the highest offices in the state. Remember these are the ones who only come in the summer and whose children go to pre ivy league Private Academies such as Andover, and Moses Brown to name only a few. The 2% of homeowners that own these palatial compounds are paying more property tax per "summer cottage" than 87% of Mainers make on paper in a year.
Education is the greatest gift we bestow upon our young, for they are the caretakers of tomorrow, and the caregivers of us in our old age.
How would an administrator on MDI, know or lose sleep if a child in The North Woods, or the Unorganized Areas, went to school only to find no chalk in the classroom and no math book to take home to study? Yes it all looks quite neat and pretty all wrapped up into a 36.5 million dollar savings but we only need to look to our Southeast to Boston, Dorchester, Mattapan, Providence, Hartford and NYC, to see the direct results of overburdening teachers and taking for granted an education system that Maine has stood by for generations.
Look to the education system in the poverty stricken Louisiana Delta and backwoods where "hicks" mire in poverty due to an endemic corruption of public education where the "haves" get all the resources of the State and the "have not's" or "hicks" get exactly what no one else will take or what little may be left after the resources are picked clean.
This example serves well as the FBI has taken control of many school districts due to corruption and theft as when the smallest and most vulnerable of our Nation don't even know they are being robbed of anything at all. And yes all Mainers need to Stand Up And Be Counted as you are enabling the very ones you elected to rob your children of the future hopes and aspirations that only a GOOD Education can bestow upon them. As you watch the exodus of your children out of the State due to no high paying, high quality jobs are to be had in an area that could become the great State it once was where nobody had to leave that did not want to just to earn a living.
Again it all starts with the spark of a good education inspiring young minds to create wealth jobs and a better place to take care of their loved ones, because after all these are the same ones who will be deciding on whether we die at home or in an antiseptic, indistinguishable nursing home in State Care!
I would think with the Moody Beach decision clearly delineating that those whom live on the shore own the shore and the land under the water, denying all access but fishing while moving, fowling while moving, and navigation, would serve to show the interests of those whom "have" are clearly protected. But who will the guardians of Education be?
I would think trusting the legislature to "consolidate the duplication of services in education" where the poorest of children are to be represented, and given their only chance through education, would make many shake in their boots, as a child does not recognize a shoddy education unless they have been exposed to a good one.
I implore all citizens to call, write, picket, protest and exercise all forms of reasonable objection to this insidious overhaul and expose it for what it is an attempt by the State to disenfranchise the poor while handing tax breaks to the wealthy.
I am not poor but understand the value of a good education and have heard the argument on the other side of this issue. Moreover our forefathers sought to insure all the right to a basic education as good as could be bought to those who could not.
Wingman you should open a blog. Get attention to this. They opened up the lotteries to 'provide' for schools all over our country and then diverted the funds that formerly supported the schools and now they are just out and out robbing education from our children. Only a privileged few GET an education.
I like what you have to say and you HAVE to get more attention to it !!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by wingman580
"As I understand it, the number of school districts in Maine will be reduced from 290 to 80 by 7/1/09, a significant change. It is estimated that 600 to 1,000 teaching positions and approximately 800 Central Office positions will be eliminated statewide resulting in savings of $36.5 million a year."-Whofanme
I would think anyone who knew how to type, read, and write would see the value in learning these valuable assets.
Eliminating teachers out of classrooms with a state average of 10-12 children where they have an opportunity to truly learn and putting them into a school sometimes an hour away by bus where there will be 30+ CHILDREN TO CLASS may make economic sense to someone whom:
A. Has no school age child nor one bound for school in the next few years.
B. Is an out of State resident with a "10 bedroom multi-million dollar home" in (Blue Hill, Steuben, Brooklin, Harpswell, Kennebunkport, or Bar Harbor), who has lobbied The Legislature, The Senate, or The Governor to do this in an effort to reduce their "shorefront tax levy" as the owners of these "summer cottages" have unfettered access to the highest offices in the state. Remember these are the ones who only come in the summer and whose children go to pre ivy league Private Academies such as Andover, and Moses Brown to name only a few. The 2% of homeowners that own these palatial compounds are paying more property tax per "summer cottage" than 87% of Mainers make on paper in a year.
Education is the greatest gift we bestow upon our young, for they are the caretakers of tomorrow, and the caregivers of us in our old age.
How would an administrator on MDI, know or lose sleep if a child in The North Woods, or the Unorganized Areas, went to school only to find no chalk in the classroom and no math book to take home to study? Yes it all looks quite neat and pretty all wrapped up into a 36.5 million dollar savings but we only need to look to our Southeast to Boston, Dorchester, Mattapan, Providence, Hartford and NYC, to see the direct results of overburdening teachers and taking for granted an education system that Maine has stood by for generations.
Look to the education system in the poverty stricken Louisiana Delta and backwoods where "hicks" mire in poverty due to an endemic corruption of public education where the "haves" get all the resources of the State and the "have not's" or "hicks" get exactly what no one else will take or what little may be left after the resources are picked clean.
This example serves well as the FBI has taken control of many school districts due to corruption and theft as when the smallest and most vulnerable of our Nation don't even know they are being robbed of anything at all. And yes all Mainers need to Stand Up And Be Counted as you are enabling the very ones you elected to rob your children of the future hopes and aspirations that only a GOOD Education can bestow upon them. As you watch the exodus of your children out of the State due to no high paying, high quality jobs are to be had in an area that could become the great State it once was where nobody had to leave that did not want to just to earn a living.
Again it all starts with the spark of a good education inspiring young minds to create wealth jobs and a better place to take care of their loved ones, because after all these are the same ones who will be deciding on whether we die at home or in an antiseptic, indistinguishable nursing home in State Care!
I would think with the Moody Beach decision clearly delineating that those whom live on the shore own the shore and the land under the water, denying all access but fishing while moving, fowling while moving, and navigation, would serve to show the interests of those whom "have" are clearly protected. But who will the guardians of Education be?
I would think trusting the legislature to "consolidate the duplication of services in education" where the poorest of children are to be represented, and given their only chance through education, would make many shake in their boots, as a child does not recognize a shoddy education unless they have been exposed to a good one.
I implore all citizens to call, write, picket, protest and exercise all forms of reasonable objection to this insidious overhaul and expose it for what it is an attempt by the State to disenfranchise the poor while handing tax breaks to the wealthy.
I am not poor but understand the value of a good education and have heard the argument on the other side of this issue. Moreover our forefathers sought to insure all the right to a basic education as good as could be bought to those who could not.
Thank you for taking the time to read my opinion and help try to illuminate the corruption that takes place, literally robbing children of their future!
The example of the lottery is indeed an excellent parallel.
Citizens not just in Maine, but in every State, town, or municipality, need to address this issue on every level, ask for a public accounting.
But watch out when the powers that be start using the machinations of "The State" to crush the lone voice of a single inquisitor as there are billions being diverted, funneled and outright stolen through a complex web of deceit.
We ALL OWE the children of Our Country the best Education that can be publicly sustained, so they (the children), are capable of leading this land we cherish into the next century.
To those of you "public servants" that are pilfering the Education of children: these are the same generations that will grow up be responsible for your needs, geriatric care and that of your loved ones. Truly insuring that you will be entering into the nine circles of Dante's Hell.
To all else, my apologies for being such a staunch supporter of a solid education for children. I know I am long winded on heart felt matters of import and injustice.
At first glance, consolidation seems like it could work--but the more you learn about how it's to be done, and how much money will REALLY be saved, the more against it I've become. Now, if there was a way to consolidate so that the kids in Washington County could have the very best teachers in their classrooms, and not have to be on a bus a MINIMUM of two hours a day--I'd be listening. There is no way the plan as it is now will save ANY money at all---at the very LEAST it will be eaten up in transportation costs alone.
Like Molly, my first impression was positive. There is so much waste and duplication of positions that one would think serious money could be saved by consolidation.
However, given how important education is to Maine's future, I am concerned how this move would impact the rural areas of the State particularly.
"As I understand it, the number of school districts in Maine will be reduced from 290 to 80 by 7/1/09, a significant change. It is estimated that 600 to 1,000 teaching positions and approximately 800 Central Office positions will be eliminated statewide resulting in savings of $36.5 million a year."-Whofanme
I would think anyone who knew how to type, read, and write would see the value in learning these valuable assets.
Eliminating teachers out of classrooms with a state average of 10-12 children where they have an opportunity to truly learn and putting them into a school sometimes an hour away by bus where there will be 30+ CHILDREN TO CLASS may make economic sense to someone whom:
A. Has no school age child nor one bound for school in the next few years.
B. Is an out of State resident with a "10 bedroom multi-million dollar home" in (Blue Hill, Steuben, Brooklin, Harpswell, Kennebunkport, or Bar Harbor), who has lobbied The Legislature, The Senate, or The Governor to do this in an effort to reduce their "shorefront tax levy" as the owners of these "summer cottages" have unfettered access to the highest offices in the state. Remember these are the ones who only come in the summer and whose children go to pre ivy league Private Academies such as Andover, and Moses Brown to name only a few. The 2% of homeowners that own these palatial compounds are paying more property tax per "summer cottage" than 87% of Mainers make on paper in a year.
Education is the greatest gift we bestow upon our young, for they are the caretakers of tomorrow, and the caregivers of us in our old age.
How would an administrator on MDI, know or lose sleep if a child in The North Woods, or the Unorganized Areas, went to school only to find no chalk in the classroom and no math book to take home to study? Yes it all looks quite neat and pretty all wrapped up into a 36.5 million dollar savings but we only need to look to our Southeast to Boston, Dorchester, Mattapan, Providence, Hartford and NYC, to see the direct results of overburdening teachers and taking for granted an education system that Maine has stood by for generations.
Look to the education system in the poverty stricken Louisiana Delta and backwoods where "hicks" mire in poverty due to an endemic corruption of public education where the "haves" get all the resources of the State and the "have not's" or "hicks" get exactly what no one else will take or what little may be left after the resources are picked clean.
This example serves well as the FBI has taken control of many school districts due to corruption and theft as when the smallest and most vulnerable of our Nation don't even know they are being robbed of anything at all. And yes all Mainers need to Stand Up And Be Counted as you are enabling the very ones you elected to rob your children of the future hopes and aspirations that only a GOOD Education can bestow upon them. As you watch the exodus of your children out of the State due to no high paying, high quality jobs are to be had in an area that could become the great State it once was where nobody had to leave that did not want to just to earn a living.
Again it all starts with the spark of a good education inspiring young minds to create wealth jobs and a better place to take care of their loved ones, because after all these are the same ones who will be deciding on whether we die at home or in an antiseptic, indistinguishable nursing home in State Care!
I would think with the Moody Beach decision clearly delineating that those whom live on the shore own the shore and the land under the water, denying all access but fishing while moving, fowling while moving, and navigation, would serve to show the interests of those whom "have" are clearly protected. But who will the guardians of Education be?
I would think trusting the legislature to "consolidate the duplication of services in education" where the poorest of children are to be represented, and given their only chance through education, would make many shake in their boots, as a child does not recognize a shoddy education unless they have been exposed to a good one.
I implore all citizens to call, write, picket, protest and exercise all forms of reasonable objection to this insidious overhaul and expose it for what it is an attempt by the State to disenfranchise the poor while handing tax breaks to the wealthy.
I am not poor but understand the value of a good education and have heard the argument on the other side of this issue. Moreover our forefathers sought to insure all the right to a basic education as good as could be bought to those who could not.
Ok wingman I will agree with most of what you say....alright 99% of it but first off living in Steuben and being the Community Rep for our RPC I do not know of any 10 bedroom multi million dollar homes except maybe the one that was just built by some Trust Fund Baby down on ******s Cove (and yes that is the true name of the cove as it is in town records but now they called it Dyer Harbor Road) and yes we have the Eagle Hill Gang or as most folks know it Humboldt Institute which is nothing more than a tax scam by another group of Trust Fund Babies but most of us live in modest homes here and there are many that are on fixed incomes who have no voice in this consolidation. We have a corrupt Superintendent that has dragged this town with the help of towns like Franklin, Sullivan, Sorrento, and even Winter Harbor into the states original plan for what is known as RSU7 just to insure his job as the new Superintendent as Ellsworth has an interim one right now. He fails to tell people how our local school will be closed and that the new school in Winter Harbor can not handle the 114 students that we have so our town will need to kick in some cash to build on to this school. He further fails to tell people that Sumner will be closed and all the kids in all the towns that go to Sumner will have to kick in the cash to build on to the Ellsworth High School. He fails to tell people that to run an RSU this size you will need a superintendent, at least 2 assistants' to him and the needed secretaries to do the work for all of these people. At the meeting that was held when Flanders Bay decided to change their original plans of partnering with SAD 37 to go to the west one of the first points made by some of these good concerned parents to the west was "We work in Ellsworth and the area of Ellsworth so it would be easier for us that way we could benefit and have the time to see our kids in sports" now to me this was a lame excuse for making this choice but the Flanders Board did not care about Quality Education or the future of their children so they voted to go west. When I pointed out about the proposed new Vocational School that SAD 37 was working on and what impact it would have on the future for the kids they could care less. When I pointed out the difference in education here in the U.S. and Maine and how it compared with the rest of the world I may have just as well talked to the wall because one look at that board and you knew just what their plan was to stop all talks to the east and go west no matter what anyone said that made sense on why the east was a better choice. Another point made by these concerned parents was that they would have a full time Art and Music program for their kids and how important this was to them. So on that note I pointed out today's job market and how most of the top paying jobs in the fields of Bio Research and Medical and Technology were held by foreigners and not Americans and how foreign schools stress more importance on these fields than we do and how we should look at these facts and build a future for our children on this they responded that it was not relevant to the issue at hand and that in time this new RSU would meet those demands. As if I have not heard this statement before so I guess what it all boiled down to was the Superintendent had total control over the boards choice and sold them on a false bill of goods.
Further into this issue the Superintendent failed to point out how many low tax high subsidy towns are involved as opposed to those of us like Steuben and in the Governors wisdom decided we could be a low subsidy high tax town and how that will have an affect on towns taxes as those low subsidy towns will carry the burden for the rest when it comes to cost sharing and this is another issue in and of itself as we find that many of these towns we are going to be with are taking on new debts just to pass them on to the rest of the towns when the RSU starts. Our town has NO DEBT so this is going to have a major impact on us and those on fixed incomes that right now are just barely getting by and are concerned about heating costs and food costs not to mention medical, prescriptions', gas, and a host of other costs. So NO consolidation is not the answer and it will not save anyone except for the state. It will not give a better education, it will not prepare our children for the jobs of today or tomorrow and YES it will increase an already high DROP OUT rate as kids will not be able to handle the many hours on bus trips to ad from school. As it is we already have some kids that ride the bus for an hour each way to go to and from Sumner so how much longer will they be on the bus to Ellsworth and as for the new school in Winter Harbor those roads are tough enough to drive in good weather in a car let alone a bus one can only imagine how much of a risk there will be in bad weather going over those roads with a bus load of kids.
That said I think I am done for the moment or at least until I have something else to add like actual data between the U.S. and Maine and Foreign Education as one can find much of this information on the web through Wikipedia.com. Or you can just read some of the articles that were in the Bangor Daily like : Arnold Greenberg: 21st century schools needed
Friday, August 04, 2006 - Bangor Daily News Arnold Greenberg: How about focusing on students instead of money?
Thursday, April 10, 2008 - Bangor Daily News State says workers needed
Thursday, April 24, 2008 - Bangor Daily News Dianne Tilton: Funding formula the real threat to rural education
By BDN Staff
Monday, May 05, 2008 - Bangor Daily News
Last edited by amacop; 07-15-2008 at 10:55 AM..
Reason: html tags
As I understand it, the number of school districts in Maine will be reduced from 290 to 80 by 7/1/09, a significant change. It is estimated that 600 to 1,000 teaching positions and approximately 800 Central Office positions will be eliminated statewide resulting in savings of $36.5 million a year. Of course not everybody agrees with these figures, as some argue that costs will increase to administer across such large geographic areas in the rural part of the state. In any event, it will be interesting to watch the act play out over the next 24 months.
You better believe there are those directley involved in education that do not want this thing to succeed. I can only imagine the effort some will take to see this fail..........when in reality it makes too much sense!
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