[Local-Maine-Schools] Skip Greenlaw: Commentary Re: School Repeal/Consolidation

[Brian Hubbell]

From: "Skip Greenlaw" <skipg at hypernet.com>
To:
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 7:54 AM
Subject: Commentary Re: School Repeal/Consolidation

Maine Coalition to Save Schools
Contact: Skip Greenlaw, 367-2738

HIGH DRAMA IN AUGUSTA

                                Skip Greenlaw

The high drama of the issues regarding school consolidation continued
last week in the legislative chambers on the 3rd floor of the state
house in Augusta.  With adjournment of the legislature scheduled to
take place sometime between Wednesday, April 16 and Friday, April 18,
there will be long sessions during the week of April 14 to dispense
with 150 bills still in the process to include jail consolidation,
dirigo health, and school consolidation.

The drama began a week ago Monday, April 7 about 2 PM when the senate
enacted by a vote of 21 to 14, LD 1932, the so-called school
consolidation "fix-it" bill as amended by the Damon super union
concept.  As promised, the governor vetoed the bill with lightning
fast speed.  His message was returned to the senate so fast that the
senate found itself debating the motion to override the gubernatorial
veto two hours later that same afternoon.  In an astounding reversal
of their vote earlier in the afternoon, the senators voted 23 to 12 to
sustain the governor's veto.  "How could this be?", I asked one
senator on Friday.  Her answer was that they could tell from the
voting board that the veto would not be overidden; so 14 of 18
democratic senators voted "out of loyalty" to the governor to sustain
the veto.  Nine republican senators voted to sustain the veto, but
certainly not out of any loyalty to the governor.

The next piece of exciting news about school consolidation came
Wednesday evening, April 9  when the House voted 73 to 59 on an
amendment offered by Rep. Rob Eaton to repeal the school consolidation
law.  The repeal bill was forwarded to the senate, which did not
consider it last week.  Consideration of repeal may be delayed in the
Senate until all bills regarding school consolidation have been
debated. Several members of the House  voted for repeal to send a
message to the governor after he vetoed LD 1932.   That same Wednesday
evening, Rep. Jim Schatz moved "indefinite postponement" of the
governor's latest attempt at "fix-it school consolidation", LD 2314.
The house majority leader saved the bill from instant demise by
tabling the bill before it came to a vote.  At the end of the week,
that bill remains on the House table.

There had been rumors afloat in the halls of the legislature that the
commissioner of education had been trying to negotiate separate
private and special law agreements with Mount Desert Island schools,
Greenville, and Van Buren.  There was speculation that Rep. Wendy Pieh
quieted those rumors when she "outed" the rumors publicly on the floor
of the House during the repeal debate Wednesday evening.   In fact,
Rep. Hannah Pingree has told "the DOE that a private and special law
would be unacceptable to the legislature".

It appears as if the House actions on Wednesday night of passing
repeal of school consolidation and tabling the governor's latest
"fix-it" bill have finally rattled the governor and commissioner into
the realization that all is not well in school consolidation land.
The commissioner has been told that consolidation negotiations at the
local level are not going well in most areas many times in the past
nine months by superintendents as well as the DOE faciliators, but she
has been unwilling to share this information publicly or with members
of the legislature.

With five days left before adjournment, what will the outcome be?
Even the shrewdest Las Vagas "bookie" would not take a bet on the
outcome of the debate on school consolidation.  Does the legislature
have the will to try again to put a bill on the governor's desk?  Will
the governor accept some type of compromise?  Or will frustration on
the part of the legislature take over and will they vote to repeal the
school consolidation law?  Or will the legislature adjourn with-
out amending the law or repealing it?  There are countless other
scenarios which could be listed.  I doubt that any member of the
legislature could predict on Monday, April 14, what the outcome of the
school consoldiation debate
will be at the end of this week.  Maine citizens will have to wait one
more week to learn what comes next in the sad saga of school
consolidation.


Skip Greenlaw lives in Stonington and is Chair of the Maine Coalition
to Save Schools.  The coalition is conducting a statewide initiated
citizen petition to repeal the school consolidation law.  Greenlaw may
be contacted at 367-2738 or at skipg at hypernet.com