NICE BDN--- the URL for you link could not be found....geesh

Clicking on the link doesn't work, but if you type the address into your browser, it works fine.

The Internet address to get the list and more information can be found at http://www.maine.gov/education/reorg/index.html

Since the link can not be loaded dynamically copy and paste it into your browser by highlighting it pressing ctrl & c,

then pasting it in the browser window ctrl v

"There did not appear to be any pattern in the way the votes turned out, Connerty-Marin said."

“In areas where they focused on creating educational opportunities for students rather than focusing on the money — that’s where we’ve seen the successes,” he said.

What a bunch of CRAP. He doesn't seem to mention issues like 1 1/2 hour bus rides (each way) to school in some of the proposed districts. If you think making kids of any age having to get up at 5 - 5:30 a.m. to catch a school bus and then ride that bus for 90 minutes is going to improve education, then I can only say Connerty-Marin, you have you head somewhere where the sun doesn't shine! Sure there are places (more heavily populated districts in the southern part of the state) where the RSUs will work, but, as usual, our state leaders fail to understand the impact of their actions in the remaining 2/3 of the state. In a state as economicly and geographically diverse as Maine, you can't expect to create one plan that would fairly and equally apply to all districts.

As to your comment about "focusing on the money", your damned right that's a consideration in small towns where the average family income is 1/3 to 1/2 of what it is in the southern portion of the state. We're in the worst recession, probably soon to be re-classified as a depression, that this country has seen in nearly 100 years and you're asking many smaller school districts to appove school budgets that would double and triple? In the town I live in, voting yes to the creation of the new district would have meant that our entire town budget (not just the education budget) would have nearly doubled ....and no, that's not an exaggeration.

Go back to the drawing board and create a set of regionalization rules that would not be punitive to the many small towns spread across the state. Everyone wants educational cost controls and savings but NOT at the expense of our children's education and NOT at the expense of doubling or quadrupling our education budgets.

Please keep in mind that every time the Department Of Education decides to assist schools, the "advisors" are paid handsomely for their time. At last check $60 an hour was the going rate (along with expenses).

Schools should cut back, but the cuts should be decided at the local level.

Reorganization has been a huge waste of time, money, and resources. Voting has been a waste of time. If The Department of Education does not "agree" with the vote of the people, then they "fine" the towns. Is this really democracy?

We need good, common sense government! Someone like the late Governor Longely - no favorites, no special interests, no buddy system. Just good, common sense government

Baldacci in his infinite wisdom is doing this to supposedly save money.... But how much is it costing to hold meetings on the RSU plans then the special elections... 1 to approve or deny it... if approved then the towns have to vote on the scholl board, if denied they have to keep voting until a plan is approved or just accept the penalty... This is a joke... it is costing way more for the taxpayers than his projected savings... Just more of his Bright Ideas...

I agree with the other readers that say this whole re-organization plan was a waste of time. The governor may mean well , but this approach will not save the state any money. There are many areas where each individual district can reduce their budgets but most of them are unwilling to do so and the tough cuts and real cost saving measures are never made. The budgets should be trimmed at the local level but again meaningful cuts will never happen because every year the employees of every district and their families are the majority in attendance at the district budget meetings and always vote in whatever they want. What may work is if the state would send independent assessors to each district who coud then identify the waste as well as make REAL cost saving recommendations. The state could then reduce their share to the districts who refuse to cooperate and insist on continuing to waste. Their are schools out there with 5-6 children per class and the politicians in these areas keep them open. There are also schools in Unorganized Territory areas who are immune to this reorganization and have only 30 students or so in the whole school when they are less than 20 miles aways from other public schools. That is waste! But it is sacred ground that the politiicians protect. Some of the re-organization plans make sense like for instance SAD10 in Allagash and SAD27 in Ft Kent. But there again, our politicians got involved and told the people in Allagash to vote it down and they did. To summarize, meaningful cuts are pretty much a hopeless case in many areas. Just keep on paying Mainers!

The only thing I can think is that this State Government wants our children home schooled so the money can go to Dirigo Health.When are they going to FIRE Gendron? She is incapable to run a horse race not speaking the School system.We need a new Govornor and a new leader of Education. Bring back Gov. Reed, Gov. King, anyone one but the one we have now.

In my district, the additional cost of consololidation was a lot more than what the state is going to "take" away from our district (from our kids' education) for not consolidating, about 3x as much.

It was a no-brain vote.

It was kind of like getting pulled over for speeding and getting a $100 fine. Written on the ticket it says that you have another option if you don't want to pay the fine -- you can go to traffic school for 10 Saturdays in a row for a cost of $300. If you pay for and go to traffic school you don't have to pay the $100 fine.

I wonder how many people would choose to pay $300 and give up 10 Saturdays or simply pay the $100 fine.

That's what many districts were faced with.

A lot of people have a complete misunderstanding of the impact of this law on rural areas - there are simply no savings found through consolidation. Our superintendent just renewed for 4 more years, as did all of the others that were planned to be folded into the new district. They were planning to remove a principal position to maintain the superintendent's job, and find another job for the principal. Craziness!

It would be a far better exercise to mandate additional cooperative savings, to be found by the local administration, or to have alternative funding sources found by the locals - something they are surprisingly good at. The foreseeable result of administrative consolidation in the northern part of the state would be for high schools to consolidate - and that is something that will provide no savings or educational benefit. Putting my kids on a bus for an hour and a half does nothing to help their education or save money in transportation costs. Buses would wear out sooner, and fuel would be wasted. How about after school activities - another late bus run at extra cost so my kids can get home at 6:30?? This idea was forced on us with no forethought to the impacts, educational or otherwise.

Does anyone find it interesting how we can come up with $11 million from "reserve accounts" so quickly?? There are many places to cut the government waste in Augusta. Don't ask us to do it locally until you can do it at the state level.

gw2kpro ... EXACTLY

Apparantly the GOV thinks people in Maine do not know math.

How bout we cut sports, music, etc? Put it on the private sector if people want to play sports and music. Or just make it pay to play.

Hey all, Its very telling that all the comments here are against this nonsense. As for " In areas where they focused on creating educational opportunities for students rather than focusing on the money — that’s where we’ve seen the successes", all I can say is here in Brewer, I watch a group of passionate and dedicated teachers focus on creating educational opportunities for a diverse group of students everyday. The statement by Connerty-Marin says alot about not only him but those around him. It is full of hurt and smacks of the same arrogance that seems to be the norm for the Blaine house these days. Mr. Connerty-Marin, obviously you and the guy on the other end of your leash have forgotten where all that money comes from. Some of us just wanted the opportunity to decide where and HOW to spend it since we EARN it in the first place.

oh and shtstrm, I can show you in my checkbook where my kids are already "paying to play" Please take a night and go to your local high school's booster meeting and see just how much of each sports' budget is raised by small groups of moms and dads. Sports and music and the arts give students a stage to put into practice what they learn during the day in class. Setting and achieving a goal, teamwork, leadership, tolerance, how to accept failure, enjoying the fruits of success are all "real life " skills that are learned through school sports and arts programs.

To 35remington, right on. Thank you. "Setting and achieving a goal, teamwork, leadership, tolerance, how to accept failure, enjoying the fruits of success are all "real life" skills that are learned through school sports and arts programs." I teach the arts. I know first hand. I have middle school students asking for MORE art. They can't get enough of it. I have decided to start an "Art Club" because they asked for it. They obviously have the need, the want, the desire.

The (publicized) impression that school consolidation has been proposed as a cost-saving choice, is more probably a continuation of the long-term goal of government-controlled education, particularly government control of educational content within ever-narrowing social/cultural/behavioral constraints. In order to support freedom-of-education awareness, please consider the following:

Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt (resident of Camden, Maine), former Senior Policy Advisor in the U.S. Department of Education, blew the whistle in the 1980s on government activities withheld from the public. Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt's book, "The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America" is a chronological history of the past 100+ years of education reform. Each chapter takes a period of history and recounts the significant events, including important geopolitical and societal contextual information. Citations from government plans, policy documents, and key writings by leading reformers record the rise of the modern education reform movement. The book may be downloaded (in .pdf file format) free of charge, from the author's website:

www.deliberatedumbingdown.com

This (my) message is NOT a promotional effort. I have no connection to the author, publisher, etc. This is merely an effort to assist in the awakening of Americans to social and freedom constraints being implemented on our country without our knowledge or choice.

Please be reminded that our democratic republic depends on the PARTICIPATION of its citizens in order to survive.

~ Robin (Weston, ME)

Arrogance? Not coming from the likes of Mr. Connert-Martin or Ms Gendron. The posted comments are right on. For this educational "expert" to claim that those that supported the failed school consolidation project, were more interested in the children's education, than those that opposed the program were mainly interested in the money is just so outrageous. Yet, do we expect anything less from Augusta? Do we trust those folks in Augusta? Now is the time for all of the money spent for this 18 month charade, to be posted for all to see. We want to know what the cost was for the facilitor's, advisor's, lawyers and everybody else directly involved with this hugely expensive ongoing rip off of the taxpayers. Savings? Let's see the figures...Where is the Bangor Daily News on this information? It should be the media's responsibility to get this information out to the public. Don't count on that though, as the News was right in the old Baldacci column, all along. Are you listening Governor Baldacci? How about a clean-up of your education department..Larry T. Doughty, South Brewer..larrytdoughty@yahoo.com..www.ourstory/larrytdoughty/