Defer construction on the three new schools for two years and the budget will have $210-million extra to work with.

while the administration and wall street gang eat like kings and the have-mores they are

Virtually every person commenting on this article has fallen for the smoke and mirrors tactic pushed by the proponents of large government and expanded State spending. Although our schools need to be held responsible for the education of our children in both a qualitative and fiscally responsible way, the legislature and the governor are using cuts to the schools to divert our attention from the real problems. These officials realize full well that proposing cuts to kids will cause great uproar, and they would much prefer to force a property tax increase than step up to the plate and FINALLY do the correct thing for Maine. Our State budget and the programs they support are riddled with over spending and duplication. That is what we must concentrate on. It is no longer acceptable for the politicians in Augusta to pass laws and rules dictating how we must educate our children withour providing 100 % of the funding for the mandates they order. If the darned mandates are so important to the education of children...then pay for them and justify it to the people of Maine. This governor and this legislature...everyone of them from both parties...must be held accountable for the joke they call a budget. The State budget is nothing more than a black hole eating the very foundation of our State. It is propped up by a bunch of do gooders who stay in power by ever expanding what they call a " safety net. " Like our family budgets, if we the State cannot afford the safety net as it exists, then prioritize, and cut the darn thing back. Get into the inner workings of the departments and eliminate the benefits we cannot afford. As a rep or a gov, if you can't bring yourself to make the cuts necessary to provide a real safety net while also living within our means, then either get the out of office or justify the benefits to the people and let us vote on them. Forcing local people to choose between discontinuing their high school football or basketball team, or raising taxes to support them is a cute trick that has been going on for years. It is time to stop the bull. MAKE THE STATE CUTS AND BRING BACK A SANE AND SENSIBLE BUDGET.

jimbeale for governor!!!!!

To the sheeple of Maine: Don't forget to vote in November and re-elect all of the moonbats who keep putting illegal immigrants, special interests, and welfare queens ahead of your children's education. Hint: They usually have a big "D" after their name.

maybe they should cut out some of the unneeded school spending things like lunch aids and have the teachers do it like they use to do in the old days.

Thats a good one pcme2000...Some teachers today don't want to do any more than they have too. Watch when the bell rings at the end of the day and see all the teacher's leaving, half before the buses leave. The ones that stay are good teacher's

jimbeale is telling it like it is.

Yeah right cracker...Those evil teachers...thinking they're just as good as people with 'real' jobs and that they can leave work and go home to their families when the day is done...You wouldn't last ten minutes.

Damn good thing. State aid should be zeroed out.

If the school boards had to raise 100% of their money locally they would be a lot more careful how they spend it.

Let me get this straight -- we're continuing to fund methadone clinics in this state while cutting the education budgets in all but 12 school districts.

Good thing the voters who elect the same bunch year after year have their priorities straight.

There are a lot of great points being made here. What bothers me is the sheer magnitude of the schools being built these last few years. Hampden HS set a new state record at $60,000,000!!! Brewer middle school is costing $39,000,000, Ellsworth HS $39,000,000, and Thorndike HS $40,000,000 just to mention 4 current projects. Rather than build single story wooden schools that will do the job just fine these projects have university class campus's with 3 story glass facades, world class athletic fields, performing arts centers (replete with outdoor art!), with gymnasium's and cafeteria's that rival professional convention centers. Why not have floor level classrooms which are cheaper to build and safer in a fire. Have the kids eat lunch in homeroom and provide a simple ball field to burn off some energy. This also saves on busing kids all over the gosh dang state for competition. They'll get enough competition trying to find a good job. Hopefully their education provides the knowledge they need for this competition. How fancy or costly the school these students attend will do absolutely NOTHING for them in the job market.

I think some of you have some awesome ideas for saving money, and I suggest you show up to your school board meetings, PTA, write letters to your local paper, representatives, etc. I don't think they'll read it here.

When schools are built they mostly are done with grant money, grant money cannot be used for anything else, only what it is GRANTED FOR. May seem crazy, but that's our system. You lose what you don't use for the specific purpose the money was granted for.

As for teachers being lazy.... wow, I don't know where you all have kids going to school, but I sure don't see that in Bucksport. I'd have to say that 95-99% of the teachers here put in more hours (at school, at home, at school events) than I''ve ever seen in any other profession. And they are paid a pittance for it. Compare the value of what a teacher does (even the "laziest" ones, who only want to put in their expected hours) to what, say, someone in sports or "entertainment", apparently society values a Tiger Woods or a Lady GaGa more than a teacher, because they sure get paid a whole lot more for their "work".

I am amused by all those who blame the Democrats. Wasn't so long ago, it was all GW's fault. So, is it whatever politicians are in office, or just all politicians (more likely)?

People need to get more involved in their lives outside their home, not just write stuff here. It's great for venting, but little else.

The government wants you to say you'll pay higher taxes and if you have kids in school you should. However perhaps the politicans would be willing to take pay cuts instead.......maybe home schooling would be better.

please everyone's using the recession as an excuse...its b.s. send more to haiti huh?