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Dear Mr.Keenan, The tone of your e-mail is unnecessarily antagonistic
and hostile. You must not know Brian Hubbell or be aware of the
service that he has done and is doing for our entire Island community
or you would be embarrassed by your unwarranted attack on him. Brian
is the most thoughtful, measured, un-political person that I
know...everything he does is for the <i>common</i> good. If you had
read all the way to the bottom of his e-mail, you would have seen that
the list was not generated by him, but was sourced as:<br>
<br>
Source:<br>
>> > Dr. David L. Silvernail; The Identification of Higher and
Lower<br>
>> > Performing Maine Schools, School Profiles and
Characteristics; Maine<br>
>> > Education Policy Research Institute; May 2007<br>
<br>
The only reason Brian included that was as a rebuttal to the inane
editorial in Press Herald. He then responded to your first e-mail with
an innocuous response asserting that you should maintain local control
& destiny of your own school...which is what I believe we all
support. Your "back-sider as victim" or second class citizen argument
is dated frankly...with your connection to the high school and your
background in education, I would think you would be more informed with
the efforts of the last few years. The work at including staff from
all the Island schools in the development of the curriculum, the
efforts of the Superintendent's office to disseminate information,
communication and services evenhandedly across the entire Union has
been unprecedented and should be a model statewide.<br>
<br>
I think if you look close to home you'll find examples within your own
community of residents who don't believe that your school has supported
sports programs to their level of desire and have somehow maneuvered
their children into Pemetic to have them play at a higher level. This
(& declining enrollment) began some of the rumblings that have been
heard about your school consolidating with Pemetic...I've never heard
Blue Hill. Brian Hubbell's point of local control is particularly
pertinent here. If Tremont and Pemetic were to merge, that should be
decided by the citizens of those towns...not Bar Harbor or Mt. Desert.<br>
<br>
Your "poorer vs. wealthier" or "well-healed"(sp) are specious arguments
as well. If you indeed know residents all over the Island, every
community has a large number of families who are struggling
financially. As far as applying various town interests, the point has
been made many times that if you attended a high school or Union
meeting which has representatives from all the towns and the outer
Islands, you would be hard pressed to identify who is from where - we
all are working for the good of all of our children.<br>
<br>
As far as the newspaper thing goes...are you serious? Boston has a
bigger paper & doesn't report on Bangor! Do you really think we
have any control of that? Perhaps you should look inward...I know
factually that the way the "Athlete-of-the week" is included is based
on submissions by the family of the athlete. Check your phone book for
the listings of the local papers and call the editors regarding your
son's achievement (kudos, by the way)...but bringing it into a
discussion such as this is simply inflammatory.<br>
<br>
Thanks for your time in reading this and if you like to see what Brian
Hubbell is doing for all of us follow this link and spend a few
hours....<br>
<a
href="http://sparkflashgap.net/School/SchoolConsolidationReferences.html">http://sparkflashgap.net/School/SchoolConsolidationReferences.html</a><br>
<br>
Tom Burton<br>
<br>
<br>
frank wrote:
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type="cite">
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Actually,thats not the inference I would draw from that either.What I
would<br>
say is that your list is just another example of how poorer communities
that<br>
are adjacent to much wealthier and supportive communities,as far as<br>
education is concerned,often perform substandard to thier
counterparts.Which<br>
in this case,since all our kids end up at the same island wide high<br>
school,is in need of rectification.Your suggestion that Tremonnt is
free to<br>
consolidate,frankly struck a nerve.With whom do you suggest we
consolidate ?<br>
Perhaps Blue Hill.We could establish a flotilla of boats to ferry our
kids<br>
accross the bay!This disparity will never end untill all schools on this<br>
island are recognized as equal and supported the same.Your dismissal of
the<br>
Tremont school so handidly ,speaks volumes to the pervaisive attitude on<br>
this island-,as well as exemplifies the true nature of this debate.The
well-<br>
healed see no reason to prop up the not so well-healed-,even if they
share<br>
the same geographical area,and ultimately send thier kids to the same
high<br>
school,Tremont should feel free to consolidate...please.By the way,my
fifth<br>
grader from Tremont won the National Geographic geography bee,beating
two<br>
eigth graders in the process, for his school.The local newspaper didn't<br>
pick up the story.They did however report on the Conners Emerson winner
,who<br>
happened to be an eigth grader,and had pictures and accolades.Once
again our<br>
little school was left out.Maybe the Blue Hill paper would be
interested in<br>
the story.And I'd like to tell you what my son said after seeing the<br>
story.He said" huh, I guess Tremont School dosen't matter".It's
interesting<br>
that at 11 years old he is already starting to feel the disparity that<br>
exists on this island,? Don't you think <<a
href="mailto:sparkflashgap@gmail.com">sparkflashgap@gmail.com</a>><br>
To: <<a href="mailto:keengumbo@gwi.net">keengumbo@gwi.net</a>><br>
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 1:55 PM<br>
Subject: Re: [Local-Maine-Schools] Too much football<br>
<br>
<br>
> That's not an inference that I would draw from that.<br>
><br>
> But I do think that, if Tremont citizens decide they want to<br>
> consolidate, they certainly should be allowed to.<br>
><br>
> --Brian<br>
><br>
> -------------------------------------------<br>
><br>
> On Feb 5, 2008 12:54 PM, <<a href="mailto:keengumbo@gwi.net">keengumbo@gwi.net</a>>
wrote:<br>
>> I noticed Tremont is not included on your list.Does that mean
that we in<br>
>> Tremont would benefit from consolidation?<br>
>><br>
>> ----- Original Message -----<br>
>> From: "Brian Hubbell" <<a
href="mailto:sparkflashgap@gmail.com">sparkflashgap@gmail.com</a>><br>
>> To: <<a href="mailto:local-maine-schools@mainetalk.org">local-maine-schools@mainetalk.org</a>><br>
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 11:17 AM<br>
>> Subject: [Local-Maine-Schools] Too much football<br>
>><br>
>><br>
>> > Re: Local control of education should have its limits,
Elinor Multer<br>
>> > <a
href="http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=167181&ac=PHedi">http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=167181&ac=PHedi</a><br>
>> ><br>
>> > QUOTE:<br>
>> >>Local control of education should have its limits<br>
>> >>For example, it asserts community prerogatives<br>
>> >>are more important than students' interests.<br>
>> ><br>
>> >>...local school groups and the organizations that<br>
>> >>represent them have failed to recognize reasonable<br>
>> >>limits for that control, even when it subverts local
education.<br>
>> >>...so the politicians took what seemed to offer<br>
>> >> the only available route. They tied consolidation<br>
>> >>to the budget and rammed it through.<br>
>> ><br>
>> > This is nonsense. Ms Multer apparently has been watching
too much<br>
>> > football if she believes that degree of opposition is
proof of the<br>
>> > value in brute-force school consolidation<br>
>> ><br>
>> > Listed below are most of the high-performing schools in
the state.<br>
>> > Every one of them presently operates under what Ms. Multer<br>
>> > characterizes as the impoverishment of local control.<br>
>> ><br>
>> > These schools run the full range of sizes. But what each
has in<br>
>> > common is a direct local relationship between school,
governance,<br>
>> > town, and taxpayers.<br>
>> ><br>
>> > Asa C Adams School, Orono<br>
>> > Bangor High School<br>
>> > Boothbay Region Elementary School<br>
>> > Brunswick Jr High School<br>
>> > Cape Elizabeth High School<br>
>> > Cape Elizabeth Middle School<br>
>> > Coastal Ridge Elementary, York<br>
>> > Conners-Emerson School, Bar Harbor<br>
>> > Dresden Elementary School<br>
>> > Easton Elementary School<br>
>> > Easton Junior-Senior High School<br>
>> > Eastport Elementary School<br>
>> > Edgecomb Eddy School<br>
>> > Ellsworth Middle School<br>
>> > Falmouth Middle School<br>
>> > Farwell Elementary School, Lewiston<br>
>> > Frank H Harrison Middle School, Yarmouth<br>
>> > Gorham High School<br>
>> > Great Salt Bay Community School, Damariscotta<br>
>> > Harrison Lyseth Elementary School, Portland<br>
>> > Jonesport Elementary School<br>
>> > Jordan Acres School, Brunswick<br>
>> > Longfellow School, Brunswick<br>
>> > Longfellow School, Portland<br>
>> > Madawaska Middle/High School<br>
>> > Marcia Buker School, Richmond<br>
>> > Monmouth Academy<br>
>> > Mount Desert Elementary School<br>
>> > Mount Desert Island High School<br>
>> > Mount Vernon Elementary School<br>
>> > New Sweden Consolidated School<br>
>> > Orono Middle School<br>
>> > Palermo Consolidated School<br>
>> > Perry Elementary School<br>
>> > Pond Cove Elementary, Cape Elizabeth<br>
>> > Raymond Elementary School<br>
>> > Robbinston Grade School<br>
>> > Scarborough Middle School<br>
>> > Veazie Community School<br>
>> > Waterville High School<br>
>> > Wayne Elementary School<br>
>> > Wells Elementary School<br>
>> > Wells Junior High School<br>
>> > William S Cohen School, Bangor<br>
>> > Wiscasset Primary School<br>
>> > Yarmouth Elementary School<br>
>> > Yarmouth High School<br>
>> ><br>
>> > Source:<br>
>> > Dr. David L. Silvernail; The Identification of Higher and
Lower<br>
>> > Performing Maine Schools, School Profiles and
Characteristics; Maine<br>
>> > Education Policy Research Institute; May 2007<br>
>> > <a
href="http://www.usm.maine.edu/cepare/Reports/IdentifyingHigher.pdf">http://www.usm.maine.edu/cepare/Reports/IdentifyingHigher.pdf</a><br>
>> ><br>
>><br>
>> > _______________________________________________<br>
>> > Local-Maine-Schools mailing list<br>
>> > To send a message to the list, write to:<br>
>> > <a href="mailto:Local-Maine-Schools@mainetalk.org">Local-Maine-Schools@mainetalk.org</a><br>
>> > To unsubscribe or change subscription settings:<br>
>> > <a
href="http://mainetalk.org/mailman/listinfo/local-maine-schools_mainetalk.org">http://mainetalk.org/mailman/listinfo/local-maine-schools_mainetalk.org</a><br>
>> ><br>
>> ><br>
>><br>
>><br>
><br>
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<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Tom Burton
Bar Harbor Blues Authority
& Burwaldo’s, Inc.
6 Pleasant St.
Bar Harbor, ME 04609
Office 207-288-3241
Fax 207-288-3241
Home 207-288-5487
Cell 207-266-2231
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:jtb3@roadrunner.com">jtb3@roadrunner.com</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:burwaldos@verizon.net">burwaldos@verizon.net</a>
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