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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Good afternoon Paul and others,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Your explanation of Rep. Kaufmann's position on the
state's financial dilemma vis a vis education and consolidation</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>is not the issue. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The overriding issue is who is going to provide
vision and political leadership for the future of the State of
Maine.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The second issue is why are our legislators not
representing the views of their constituents.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It is easy for you to say "that consolidation in
many areas is wise". Afterall, consolidation will not affect the
Mount Desert Island schools in any way. You will not have to
make any changes to your school structure. Consolidation will not save you
any money nor will it cost you any money. When you thought that your
school structure was threatened, you negotiated some changes to the legislation
which you thought were to your advantage. When that did not work, you hired a
lawyer to draft an amendment to the law to maintain the status quo. It
remains to be seen whether the amendment will ameriolate the potential
dislocation and increased costs of other schools or if Maine people are willing
to accept these changes. Neither you nor I can make any
determination about what is good for any school unit except our own.
One of the strengths of our culture is that the citizens of Maine
small towns </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>take an active role in the
school and municipal entities of our communities. That concept is
clearly being threatened by school consolida-</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>tion all over Maine, but not on Mount Desert
Island. It is an admirable quality to fight for what you believe in, but
not at everyone else's expense.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>For your information, members of our coalition have
identified 38 members of the House who have committed themselves to vote for
repeal this session. There are 17 other members, whom we believe will vote
for consolida-</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>tion, but with whom we have not yet had a
personal contact. There are 19 House members who have said that they will
not vote for repeal. Those numbers only reflect 1/2 of the House
membership; so obviously we have a ways to go. Many legislators have told
me that were it not for the pressure which the petition created on the
legislture they might have done nothing, which means that LD 1932 might not have
been enacted. The 500+ citizens who collected signatures thank you for
calling the repeal effort "a futile battle". We are trying to do what our
elected representatives</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>should have done if they had represented
us faithfully.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>While I am talking about representation, let share
with you a conversation I had earlier today with Rep. Jim Schatz about
</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>an amendment he offered last Thursday to the
budget bill. The amendment would have shifted $6 million of the subsidy
reduction from minimum receivers, who took a huge reduction in special ed
fundin, to other communities, who despite reductions in subsidy, will be
receiving more in subsidy in 08-09 than they did in 07-08. The amendment
lost by 7 votes 66 in favor, 73 opposed. Jim told me that democratic
leadership sent a note to all Democrats asking them to vote against all
amendments except two sponsored by Appropriation Committee members. How
did our Hancock County representatives vote? Reps. Schatz of Blue
Hill, Rosen of Bucksport, Crosthwaite of Ellsworth, and Eaton of Sullivan all
voted in favor. Reps. Pingree (House Majority Leader) and Koffmann voted
against the amendment. The effective message which democratic leadership
sent to democrats in the House was when it comes to the budget bill all
non-Appropriations Committee legislators loose their right to vote.
We thank Reps Schatz and Eaton (as well as Republican Reps. Rosen and
Crosthwaite) for representating their constituents and not democratic
leadership These are the amounts of subsidy reductions for 08-09 for
the towns which Rep Koffman represents. </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bar
Harbor receives $181,142 less than last year, Southwest Harbor- $109,315 less,
and Mount Desert $69,600 </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>less, but Cranberry
Isles receives $45,240 more. The subsidy reductions in Rep.
Pingree's district are as follows. <FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3> <FONT face=Arial size=2>Deer </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Isle-Stonington will receive $308,580 less, Tremont $65,012 less, Swan's
Island $20,279 less, North Haven </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>$40,526 less,
and Vinalhaven $13,618 less. Brooklin will receive $25,048 more than last
year and Isle au Haut will receive $14,612 more than last year. Whose
interests are Reps. Pingree and Koffmann representing? </FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2>Answer-- not their constituents!!!!!!!!!
P.S. I have repeatedly asked Rep. Pingree</FONT> <FONT
face=Arial size=2> for a written explanation from the Department of Education
about the methodology the department used to calculate these reductions.
No written ex-</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>planantion yet. How can any legislator vote
for the reductions if they have no knowledge about whether all communities were
treated fairly?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The 2004 referendum vote to pay 55% of the
aggregrate cost of education was a tragic mistake by Maine voters.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>While Gov. Baldacci spoke against the referendum,
he subsequently has not taken a leadership role to tell Maine</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>people that we could not afford 55%. Maine
people expect and respect honesty from its public officials. If the
gov-</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>norer had chosen the high road and asked
us to find ways to cut back on educational expenditures, I suspect that
many of </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>us would have rolled up our collective
sleeves and gone to work. Instead he chose the low road and forced the
legislature to vote for an ill-conceived school consoldiation law which was
going to save millions. Nine months later we have learned that there are
no cost savings and the potential for large tax increases for local property
tax</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>payers. The governor did not even have the
decency to involve the education leaders before he made the proposal and look at
the mess we find ourselves in now.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I hope that before the election in November we ask
all our candidates the obvious question. If fact, it is so
obvious</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>that no one thinks to ask it. Will you
promise to listen to your constituents' concerns and vote for the best
interests</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>of the constituents who elect you?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sincerely,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Skip</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=paul@exploreacadia.com href="mailto:paul@exploreacadia.com">Paul
Murphy</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=skwhitbymdi@yahoo.com
href="mailto:skwhitbymdi@yahoo.com">'Susan Whitby'</A> ; <A
title=atlee@umd.edu href="mailto:atlee@umd.edu">atlee@umd.edu</A> ; <A
title=local-maine-schools@mainetalk.org
href="mailto:local-maine-schools@mainetalk.org">'Local Maine Schools List'</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, March 30, 2008 11:37
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Local-Maine-Schools] (Skip
Greenlaw) YEAS/NAYS/UNDECIDEDon repeal</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">I
know that Ted has wrestled with the role that education will play in
addressing the unsustainable condition of the State’s finances and I think it
is safe to say that he feels there is a role for education to play. He may
even feel that consolidation in many areas is wise (by the way I wouldn’t
argue with that position). There are a number of reasons that very few
legislators don’t support repeal (I do). As one who has spent considerable
time at the legislature over the last year working both against the
consolidation law and to make changes to the law that would make it more
palatable, my perception is that most feel: 1.) that something must be done
and soon (I’m not arguing in favor of that perception, just that it permeates
the legislature, even among those who do not love this law); and 2.) that
there is no hope whatsoever of repeal. (I would argue in favor of this
position). The repeal effort is and has been a noble endeavor but for any who
have spent any time talking to legislators about this, it is abundantly clear
that repeal will not come from them. It is a futile
battle.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">To
Ted’s credit, while he may not have been as vocal a champion of the changes in
LD 1932 that are so vital to the prospects of MDI’s, Trenton’s and Lamoine’s
(as well as many other areas around the state) educational survival, as Hannah
and Dennis, he has worked behind the scenes to try to build consensus among
legislators , particularly those on the other side of the aisle from him and
he has voted in every circumstance for the changes that are so vital to his
constituency. In the many conversations I’ve had with Ted about the
consolidation matter I have found him entirely sympathetic to the matters of
local control and the survival of the union form of governance, especially
here on MDI, since there is such a high degree of cooperation within the
Union.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'">It
may be that his position has evolved since your conversation with him but,
again, I see that as to his credit rather than his detriment.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<DIV
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: #b5c4df 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 3pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'">From:</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'">
local-maine-schools-bounces@mainetalk.org
[mailto:local-maine-schools-bounces@mainetalk.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Susan
Whitby<BR><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, March 30, 2008 10:08 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
atlee@umd.edu; Local Maine Schools List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re:
[Local-Maine-Schools] (Skip Greenlaw) YEAS/NAYS/UNDECIDED on
repeal<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>I called Ted back in early November to ask him why he
didn't support the repeal of the school consolidation law. He felt
that it was an unpleasant, but necessary step so the State could reduce the
amount it spends on schools, since this is an ever-increasing percentage of
the yearly budget, despite dwindling enrollments. He talked about huge
school organizational changes that have happened historically Maine, and how
they are always painful and unpopular. <BR><BR>I tried to present him
with some of the extremely negative impacts that the law was going to have on
some schools. He seemed not to have a great deal of sympathy for MDI's
plight, and felt that local school decision-making powers were not in the best
interest of the communities as a whole, but was concerned about schools
like Trenton and Lamoine, due to the fact that raising teacher salaries there
were going to have a devastating effect on the school budgets there. He
did suggest that perhaps school mergers were an unpleasant, but cost-effective
solution to some of these situations down the road.<BR><BR><B><I>Dick Atlee
<atlee@umd.edu></I></B> wrote:<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt">This is Skip Greenlaw's census
of House sentiment on repeal (I've <BR>reformatted it into a single column for
email). I'm personally curious <BR>as to why people like Ted Koffman are
against it. Does anyone have any <BR>thoughts on this they could share with
the list?<BR><BR>Admittedly, a huge amount of work has gone into this on the
part of <BR>RPC's, but even if the law were repealed, if an RPC felt the
results of <BR>their work was better than what they had before, they could
continue on <BR>track -- as I recall, whatever help the DoE was going to
provide for <BR>this process has been pretty well expended by now, anyway. For
existing <BR>SAD's, repeal wouldn't seem to make any difference one way or the
other. <BR>But it makes a huge difference for the communities who are
suffering <BR>under the potential effects of the law, in many cases even with
the new <BR>mods that will probably survive a veto.<BR><BR>So what I'm
wondering is whether anyone can provide a non-DoE rationale <BR>for why the
law shouldn't simply be repealed. Is there any reason that <BR>we all
shouldn't be lobbying our reps to make a repeal bill
veto-proof?<BR><BR>Dick<BR><BR>-------- Original Message --------<BR>Subject:
YEAS/NAYS/UNDECIDED<BR>Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:37:12 -0400<BR>From:
skipgreenlaw <BR>To: skipgreenlaw <BR><BR>Good morning everyone,<BR><BR>Here
is a list of the legislators who have indicated how they will vote<BR>on
repeal of the school consolidation law. YEA means they will vote to<BR>repeal;
NAY means that they will _not_ vote to repeal; UNDECIDED means<BR>just that or
in some cases may mean they don't want to tell us. This<BR>list is comprised
of members of the House of Representatives.<BR>After their name R= Republican,
D=Democrat, U= unenrolled<BR><BR><BR>YEAS (26)<BR><BR>Peter Edgecomb,
R-Caribou<BR>Jacqueline Lundeen, D-Mars Hill<BR>Richard Cleary,
D-Houlton<BR>Henry Joy, R-Crystal<BR>Hebert Clark, D-Millinocket<BR>Jeffrey
Gifford, R-Lincoln<BR>Benjamin Pratt, D-Eddington<BR>Christian Greeley,
R-Levant<BR>Peter Johnson, R-Greenville<BR>Howard McFadden,
R-Dennysville<BR>Robert Eaton, D-Sullivan<BR>James Schatz, D-Blue
Hill<BR>Robert Crosthwaite, R-Ellsworth<BR>Lance Weddell,
D-Frankfort<BR>Michael Thibodeau, R-Winterport<BR>Wendy Pieh,
D-Bremen<BR>Kenneth Fletcher, R-Winslow<BR>W. Bruce MacDonald,
D-Boothbay<BR>Philip Curtis, R-Madison<BR>Tom Savielo, U-Wilton<BR>John
Patrick, D-Rumford<BR>Roberta Muse, R-Fryeburg<BR>Gary Moore,
R-Standish<BR>Susan Austin, R-Gray<BR>Sarah Lewin, R-Eliot<BR>Windol Weaver,
R-York<BR><BR>NAYS (18)<BR><BR>Troy Dale Jackson, D-Allagash<BR>Jeremy
Fischer, D- Presque Isle<BR>Sean Faircloth, D-Bangor<BR>Emily Cain,
D-Orono<BR>Joshua Tardy, R-Newport<BR>Thedore Koffman, D-Bar Harbor<BR>Jayne
Crosby Giles, R-Belfast<BR>Christopher Rector, R-Thomaston<BR>Elizabeth
Miller, D-Somerville<BR>Charles Priest, D-Brunswick<BR>Elaine Maksa,
D-Lewiston<BR>Janet Mills, D-Farmington<BR>Sawin Millett, R-Waterford<BR>David
Webster, D-Freeport<BR>Mark Bryant, D-Windam<BR>John Brautigam,
D-Falmouth<BR>Boyd Marley, D-Portland<BR>Anne Haskell,
D-Portland<BR><BR>UNDECIDED (13)<BR><BR>Charles Fisher, D-Brewer<BR>Hannah
Pingree, D-North Haven<BR>Kimberly Silsby, D-Augusta<BR>Stan Gerzofsky,
D-Brunswick<BR>Marilyn Canavan, D-Waterville<BR>Gary Knight, R-Livermore
Falls<BR>Raymond Pineau, D-Jay<BR>James Hamper, R-Oxford<BR>Cynthia Dill,
D-Cape Elizabeth<BR>David Farrington, D-Gorham<BR>John Tuttle,
D-Sanford<BR>Dawn Hill, D-York<BR>Alan Casavant, D-Biddeford<BR><BR>I'll add
another list for senators another time.<BR><BR>We all need to continue to call
our legislators to ask them to vote to<BR>repeal the school consolidation.
Please share those conservations with<BR>me so I can keep a tally. Let me know
if you think it would be<BR>helpful for any of us to talk with your
legislator. Also, with regard<BR>to the names listed above, it would be a kind
gesture on your part to<BR>call and thank any of the legislators who are
voting YEA. Call the<BR>legislators who are voting NAY and see if you can get
them to change<BR>their minds. In the case of the undecideds, perhaps you can
provide<BR>them some information which will help them decide to
vote.<BR><BR>More later.<BR><BR>Thanks,
Skip<BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Local-Maine-Schools
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