[Local-Maine-Schools] Allowing 'union' model does not increase number of regional units

[Brian Hubbell]

Representative Koffman, Representative Pingree, Senator Damon, et al.

Re: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=160161

Today's Press Herald report about yesterday's Education Committee
forum includes some prepared comments from Commissioner Gendron that
suggests that liberalizing the consolidation law to include a school
union governance model risks increasing the overall number of regional
units to above the 80 unit goal.

Bear in mind that Mount Desert Island's reorganization plan, as
submitted, includes school units on the islands of Cranberry,
Frenchboro, and Swan's Island.

Because they see advantages in our governance model, these off-shore
islands chose to join with the other four MDI towns rather than take
advantage of their exemption to stand alone that the law currently
allows.

If the legislature holds to the Commissioner's hard-line ruling
against our plan, then the result will most certainly be that our
off-shore islands will stand alone.

So the result, in that case, will in fact be MORE separate regional
administrative units, not fewer.

It should be in the interest of everyone to find models which allow
more cooperative governance and collaboration.

The Governor's spokesman says: "We have to keep moving forward on
this. We're not going to support anything that softens the law."

But it's important to keep in mind that it will be counter-productive
to hold a line that ends with large areas in which towns ultimately
vote down their plans, take their penalties, and then nurse the
inevitable ill-will that results.