This can only go away when The Governor is done and his lady Gendron. I hope they fail.

Not unexpected -- the administration usurped opposition that had any clout, leaving only rural taxpayers, parents and children to bear the consequences. Disappointing.

School consolidation will, in the end, be of benefit to the students. It will expand their horizons and elevate the attainable level of achievement. There are bright kids who are trapped by the limits of their education environment, bored to tears. There are special needs kids who are not receiving the services and benefits that could be available to them if their population was increased by consolidation. This is a matter of budget and sustainable growth. We must take the long view.

I am not a parent, I chose not to procreate, but I do not mind paying taxes to help the children of this state.

this is a good thing it will lower overall cost adn help put more money to the kids which is where it belongs, why would you want 100 districts when 25 can do the same thing and get rid of all thoose extra jobs that are taking money out of the kids. consolidation is good here as long as we can get the money to go where it needs to

The companies that Baldy convinced to spend $25G should be punished by acts of retaliation. These include Coke ad Poland Springs. Hit them in the wallets as they helped hit the small towns of Maine in the wallets. Money buys elections and politicians in Maine.

This is probably good for southern and western Maine but as far as downeast and northern Maine are concerned....the kids will have to travel on slippery roads for more than 30 minutes (minimum) and one-way so they can get to school. Plus the roads are in horrible condition so their lives will be put at risk. I am sad that it was not repealed....think about how much money that will save....plus maintenance on buses....did they ever think about that?

When has anything the State done saved money for anyone? Did anyone's property taxes go down? Will they ever? No.

How about "live and let live?" Why should the governor/those in the cities dictate what they THINK is best for the rest of Maine? Small schools, especially for elementary, offer much more in the way of individualized attention to children better known by the teachers over the years. I think they are a better transition to consolidated high schools. I agree that grade-school aged children should not have long rides over slippery roads, and that factoring in bus maintenance and gas diminishes any presumed cost savings. Local

Google "small schools better" to discover their myriad advantages, among them lower drop-out rates, closer-knit communities, better motivated and successful students. The only disadvantage to small schools I can see is if narrow-minded, small-town bigotry is allowed to be passed on in the classrooms. Again, though, if the religious right "put their money where their mouth is", and taught the "golden rule" and "live and let live", that problem would diminish, and caring attitudes and equal rights be extended to all our citizens. Lynn Bradbury, Lubec

On 11/4/09 at 8:07 AM, commonsensepeople wrote: Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

When has anything the State done saved money for anyone? Did anyone's property taxes go down? Will they ever? No.

My property taxes in went DOWN LAST year AND this year. Consolidation works. That's why people voted to keep it.

Consolidation MAY work for SOME individual communities and should be a LOCAL decision, not dictated by Augusta with its "One Size Fits All" solution. NO ONE'S property taxes went down because of school consolidation last year. To date the consolidation mechanics have COST MORE MONEY. This was never about saving money, it was about consolidating CONTROL in Augusta. If it were only about the money, Augusta could have simply cut the funds and told the schools to deal with it.

Longer bus rides to schools further away. larger classes with less parental involvement. Here in Whiting we have a school which most students actually ENJOY. Imagine that. We've sent graduates on (after Washington Academy) to Maine Maritime, Annapolis, Harvard, Yale, and West Point. Anyone who contends that consolidation of schools is good for children should visit Columbine in Littleton Colorado, the ultimate result of consolidation. That school draws from 75 miles away..... Some children must arise at 4 AM to catch the bus.

Hi Lynn

When Republics commit suicide, Democracy is the weapon of choice. Maine's electorate apparently has no memory of the exorbitant rise in school costs and property taxes that occurred the last time Augusta's bureaucrats pulled this stunt. You who voted in favor of redistricting, and live outside a major city or county seat, have just volunteered to support someone else's education system with your money. Tax-funded bureaucracies are like cancer, they metastasize until they destroy their host.

This consolidation will save little money to begin with, and cost vastly more money as the population centers realize that they now have greater access to the pocketbooks of rural citizens to fund their pet schemes. "One size fits all" is an oxymoron like "responsible bureaucracy," but it is what Maine's urban liberals, useless though they be, parasitic though they are, have now imposed on the entire state. If it fits in Portland, it will be forced to fit in Madawaska, Greenville and Appleton, regardless of the cost to small-town and rural Mainers. We need to oust the liberal urban Democrats from Augusta while we still have anything left for them to tax. No European country costs its citizens so much and gives them so little in return.

home schooling keeps looking better and better. Up north and out west this is not benificial. school districts are hours away from eachother. the next closest district to my kids are about an hour drive from our house, in Jackman you have several hours to drive to get to the next district. This is going to ruin extream rural maine schools and the children's education.

iminmaine The property taxes where I live doubled this year, in part because of this BAD law. RURAL MAINE GETS SCREWED AGAIN!!

Low information Americans react to perceived "present danger" by blaming what they misunderstand.

When it is the Future unfolding before their eyes the fear becomes panic and the reaction is to spin around until exhaustion.

Education in America entered the Age of the Internet along with the same technologies which gave us guided ballistic missiles...meaning the well known "double edged sword". Education and defense are both measured out in dollars.

The government (the state) under the US Constitution is charged with "providing for the public welfare, etc. etc." The 304,000,000 Americans today may or may not be at a tipping point for the provisions expected under the Constitution. It is clear, however, globally that there are too many people...suggesting that there are too many Americans. A lack of family planning or family planning services?

And yet the low information American expects the past to continue as always from day one of the "good old days". To happen and continue as if CHANGE has not entered the arena -- Big Changes --

Ignorance is not a virtue. Education is not free and always just across the street or a short bus ride away. But it might be...the technologies that gave us education and defense and a Constitution we defend to the death.

If you were going bankrupt wouldn't you first consolidate your debt and protect your current assets?

Agian, the vote north of Augusta dont count !!

a big thanks for ensuring my taxes keep going up with no say in how the "other town" spends it. I appreciate it.

This works well in larger areas, but in rurual areas this is a nightmare. People in the larger districts don't quite understand and once again the people of northern and eastern maine suffer .

So once again the southern and western part of the state gets to decide the fate of our State. First it was well, we dont think a racino is right for Washington county, but in a year we will try to put one in Oxford, now they tell us what is best for OUR kids. Whats next? no salt sand for our roads here cause Southern Maine needs it? Oh Well at least We can All go to the doctors and get a perscription for pot, or is that all reserved for the other side of the state too? IF its not Canada trying to stop us from economic development (LNG) its the other half of the state making up our minds for us. I say Washington and Hancock counties form our our State, then maybe we will have a fair shot at making decisions best fitting for US way down here in the OTHER STATE OF MAINE. Hey another Idea, Lets get a govoner in office that dont just know where Washington county is during Election years.

Time for rural Maine to secede. No problem if you're just traveling across town. Kids need to spend time in class, not on a school bus. It's as simple as that. I applaud the citizens of the town in which I am lucky enough to teach for their commitment to their kids' lives and educations. They measured the "penalties" against the gains and said "thanks, but no thanks." We have a small school where everyone knows each other, the kids are individuals; not numbers, and the community is involved in everything from sports to fundraisers to the arts. This flatly would not be the case if the school were 25 miles away, which it would be had they chosen to go with the flow. By the way, they've graciously taken on the extra tax burden to pay for the privilege of being part of their kids' educations, rather than observers from afar. City dwellers just don't get it. This is the way life should be.

Small schools are the most efficient way to educate rural children. The research proves it.