<html>
<head>
<style>
.hmmessage P
{
margin:0px;
padding:0px
}
body.hmmessage
{
FONT-SIZE: 10pt;
FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma
}
</style>
</head>
<body class='hmmessage'>
Hello all,<br><br>Below is a copy of the letter I sent to legislators asking them to support the Damon amendment. I got a little fired up when I read the most recent postings, and I am afraid that opposition to the consolidation law is becoming divided into two factions: Those who want to support the Damon amendment, and those who do not want to support the amendment because it is tacked on to a flawed bill, which should be repealed. This will weaken our stance, and I believe we need to come back together again.<br><br>Keep up the good work!<br><br>Kim Steinbarger<br><br><br><br><br><style>.hmmessage P{margin:0px;padding:0px}body.hmmessage{FONT-SIZE: 10pt;FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma}</style>Dear Sirs,<br><br>With this letter, I am urging you to support the Damon amendment to school consolidation bill 1932. I know that you both would like to see the whole consolidation bill repealed, as would I, but the realist in me understands that that is not going to happen anytime soon. In the meantime, the Damon amendment allows Union municipalities to maintain their own identity, develop their own budgets, spend their <span style="text-decoration: underline;">own</span> money on programs as they see fit, and continue to provide the local control that is a hallmark of rural Maine. Unions are not the giant money pits that the DOE has made them out to be. Unions were created so that rural communities could pool their resources, which we will continue to do in order to cut costs. The fact that the DOE is lobbying, arm-twisting and publishing skewed "facts" in opposition to the Damon amendment is a very good indication that this amendment deserves your consideration, and your vote. What the DOE doesn't realize is that when they commanded RPC groups to get together and study the options for consolidation, they created a large pool of well informed people who realized that consolidation will not work financially, governmentally, and most importantly, educationally for our students and communities. While this is a great argument for repeal of the whole mess, in the meantime, the Damon amendment is a step in the right direction. Don't let opposition to consolidation become divided, and therefore weakened as a result. Passage of the Damon amendment will not lessen the need for repeal of this law, it will give communities some time to catch their breath, decrease their anxiety, gather their resources, and press on.<br><br>Thank you for your time and consideration,<br><br>Kimberly Steinbarger, PT, MHS<br>Beech Hill School Committee member, Otis<br>RPC member, Union 92<br><br><br /><hr />Helping your favorite cause is as easy as instant messaging. You IM, we give. <a href='http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Home/?source=text_hotmail_join' target='_new'>Learn more.</a></body>
</html>