[Local-Maine-Schools] Maine SAUs with over 2500 students

[Brian Hubbell]

Like many of the the rest of you, I've heard the assertion that
analysis shows that 2500 students is the optimal size for Maine's
school administrative units.  I've also heard Dr. Silvernail says that
once you get significantly larger, like Portland, the administrative
costs per student actually go up again.

But I'd never gone back to actually see how many existing school units
of that size there are in the state.  So, this evening I thought I'd
check that out and highlight all those ideal-sized districts on a map,
thinking that it would illustrate some sort of informative demographic
divide.

Turns out that in the entire state there are only four administrative
units with more than 2500 students:

Bangor: 2,524
Buxton: 2,760
Lewiston: 3,257
Portland: 4,675

Throwing out Portland as being TOO big and too expensively
administered, that leaves three school systems.

That's 3 out of 290 school units in the whole state upon which
Silvernail's ideal average is figured.  THREE units in the state upon
which the rest of the schools are supposed to model their operations.

Even backing down to a minimum of 2000 students, there are only nine
more administrative units that meet the model:

SAD #60, Berwick: 2,024
SAD #75, Topsham: 2,032
South Portland: 2,042
Brunswick: 2,149
Sanford: 2,306
Scarborough: 2,320
Auburn: 2,330
SAD #17, Norway: 2,388
SAD #57, Waterboro: 2,473

Projecting 70 more consolidated units formed suddenly across the rural
expanse of Maine to operate similarly to just three of the four most
dense districts in the state seems to me to approach actionable
statistical malpractice.