[Local-Maine-Schools] Caribou area RPC supports Damon amendment

[Brian Hubbell]

From: Sam Collins
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 11:30 AM
To: Jeremy Fischer; Patricia Sutherland; Peter Edgecomb; Jackie
Lundeen; Bernard Ayotte; Roger Sherman
Cc: John Martin; 'Andrew H. McNeally'; 'Frank Mcelwain'; 'Dan Foster';
Steve Buck; Kent Forbes; Norma Michaud; 'Norma Michaud'
Subject: LD1932

Jeremy, Pat, Peter, Roger, Jackie, Bernard,

As co-chairs of the Regional Planning Committee 2, we urge you to
support the Damon amendment to LD1932 which would allow school unions.
Regional Unions addresses the Governor's desire to reduce
administrative expenses by sharing them with other municipalities. In
RSU 2, we would be able to take advantage of centralizing many of the
administrative functions for Caribou, FortFairfield, Limestone,
Woodland, Stockholm, New Sweden and Caswell, while also taking
advantage of sharing resources for IT, special education and Advanced
Placement courses.  The Regional Union would allow the municipalities
to take advantage of working with the other communities and yet not be
burdened by the disadvantages under the present law that drive costs
higher.

The Damon amendment carries no fiscal impact and does not shift any
money in state aid. Subsidies are not affected by the structure of
school governance.  The RPC 2 committee, as you are aware, unanimously
voted in support of the union concept at their last meeting.  The
communities are very united in their desire to have a school union and
are not supportive of the present law as written.  We all urge you to
support the Damon amendment.

Co-Chairs
Sam Collins and Andrew McNeally

Sam W. Collins
President
S.W. Collins Co.
207-492-0291
207-498-6742---fax