whats the hells the sense of these laws ?

get caught without a seat belt or smoking on a damned beach ,see if the average citizen gets a repive,,, yea what friggin joke

the taxpayer pays for this nonsense either way

, wake the hell up people

.a wolf in sheeps clothing is still a wolf

vote this next election

So the Districts that allowed themselves to be bullied into 'consolidation' now get to live with it and those who stood up to the State were the smart ones. In RSU 19 (old SAD48) towns previously in 48 get a big increase and the 2 towns from the former 38 get a reduction in taxes to pay for the new RSU. Such a deal.

Meanwhile we allow the State to make the rules for all districts even as the State ignores the voted mandate that it pay 55% of the bills. Perhaps we could find some way to penalize the State for not living up to the agreement it made with the districts. The trouble is that the State writes the checks so all they need do is not write them and they have 'fined' us. We don't have an equivilent method of punishing the State.

I live in Columbia Falls. Recently, the citizens were basically given the option to close our grammer school, or keep it open by paying 70% more taxes. (A cost that would have occured by a penality imposed by who??????) In fact, Cherryfield choose to keep their school open, with a penalty.This choice was given to us by our school board and supt. office. As you may know, the vote was to close / or keep the schools were heartbreaking either way, and has caused bad feelings all the way around. Now, the Governor and Legislature have decided to give the people who stood their ground, another chance. Guess the people of Columbia Falls got taken by the scam..............

Consolidation of schools is just another failure of our Gov. Baldacci. 2010 can't come fast enough! So we can get that bonehead liar out of office!

consolidation should have happened years ago....administrative costs are way too high...of course some superintendants didn't want to lose their jobs so they convinced these towns not to join....they had ample time to sort everything out....fine them and fine them hard...

"a more efficient and affordable system" what a CROCK! Our towns Mil rate is going up 10% this year to offset some of the additional costs we are incurring with our RSU consolidation and next year they are projecting upwards of of another 25% when the teachers salaries are matched with our consolidation partners. I'm not saying our teachers don't deserve more but nobody was complaining before this whole fiasco was started.

Granted, consolidating many services and cutting administration was nessesary but the way it was shoved down our throats by the Baldacci administration and the DOE was wrong!!!

The Governor diid a good thing by dealing the penalties for "noncomplying" school districts. The whole consolidation law has had many flaws and shoudl be repealed in November by the referendum. The Governor urges compliance with the law for "sustainable administrative structures." The administrative structures originally created by this law created supersized SADs which are now called Regional School Units or RSUs for short. The RSUs have come to exist in two ways. Most of the 88% of students in school districts that complied with the law met the threshold of being over 2500 students and changed the name of their district from an SAD to an RSU. Big cities such as Portland with over 2500 students just had to say that they would reduce costs in administration, Special Education, and Facilities Maintenance and transportation to meet the law. Other RSUs were formed by districts combining that used to be SADs, CSDs, and towns in School Unions, The RSU model is flawed in that it creates bigger districts with a weighted voted on the Board of Directors. Out of a theoretical 1000 votes, a small town that used to run their own school may have 50 votes where the larger town next store has 400 which makes the 50 votes meaniingless. This is one meaning of "one man, one vote." under this law. It lets the bigger towns dominate. Another governance model, the AOS or Alternative Organizational Structure was created after many citizens fought for it in the Legislature. It allows local controls an a shared central office with some administration and decisions such as busing going to a larger district. This is a better structure but as in an RSU a cost sharing formula had to be developed which shifts costs from one town to another such as Freeport and Pownal are finding out in their RSU. The state subsidy is given to the RSU and not to the individual towns or district. The law was also passed with if your town did not vote for it then you had to take a penalty. This is another unfair aspect of this law. The law created a big mess and a larger governance structure that loses touch with the people it is supposed to serve. The savings for administration after all of the song and dance towns and districts went through with this bill is PROJECTED to be $1.6 million. The law needs to be repealed and consolidation needs to be done with incentives and different governance choices and not a a walk tall and carry a big stick approach by the state.

Well said, bumpinroad.

Now that the pressure is off, these districts will have no incentive to consolidate...and we in the rest of the state will have to pay for their administrative luxury. I've also noticed the heavy sway of some status quo superintendents. What a shame.

and how about the RSU which do not save money?

“Our intention has never been to punish school districts,” Baldacci said in a statement. “What we want is a more efficient and affordable system that puts available resources to work for students instead of paying for unnecessary administration.” This is an interesting quotes from the Governor seeing as systems that were operating at below the rate he says they should pay per student, and the students are meeting the standards set by the state, are still be FORCED to consolidate. We need to ban together and repeal this law that was given so little thought to begin with, why would be all want to operate and spend money the way Bangor does, how did they become the model.....could that be because they are Baldacci's hometown? How about those that consolidated....can they have some time to rethink the position that have taken? I know my own taxes are going up!! As a direct result of consolidation!

So what, if any, incentive is left for school districts to consolidate? Those that have not done so are not being penalized and certainly won't do so especially with the repeal coming up for a vote in November. I personally hope this consolidation policy goes the way of the Hindenberg - up in flames. If districts WANT to consolidate because it may save money or make sense to do so, then let them. Let's not forget how rural of a state we are and the fact that some town's schools are the major source of employment in that community. Just because the state is bad at figuring out how to balance a budget and make the most of your tax dollar does not mean it shouldn't pay the 55 percent of school funding that voters want it to. I would suggest we present the state with a lawsuit for 55% plus retro pay but I think the state of Maine has to agreed to be sued.

irv4me:

...and that fact that some town's (sic) schools are the major course of employment in that community."

An irrelevant arguement. Schools exist to educate young people, not serve as an economic development tool.

"does not mean it [the State] shouldn't pay the 55 percent of school funding...I would suggest we present the state with a lwasuite for 55% plus retro pay..."

So you believe your school district should be able to increase your spending or spend inefficiently and the rest of the taxpayers in Maine should simply pay for it? Think again.

Penalties for voting wrong? The penalties are ultimately levied against taxpayers, and are levied because those same taxpayers voted against Baldacci's consolidation plan. Anyone who accepts this should also never use "democracy" and Maine in the same sentence.

No HarryHSnyderIII: If your municipality wants to maintain their small, expensive district then you should pay for the luxury...not the rest of the taxpayers in Maine.

The well being of the children is more important than the possibility of saving money, and there is no guarantee that a savings will even occur. Every district should have equal leverage in having a say concerning rules governing changes to keep things fair.