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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=skipg@midmaine.com href="mailto:skipg@midmaine.com">skip greenlaw</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=skipg@midmaine.com
href="mailto:skipg@midmaine.com">skipgreenlaw</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, October 15, 2009 11:25 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Press Release</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Maine Coalition to Save Schools</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Contact: Skip Greenlaw, 460-1260</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=center><FONT size=2 face=Arial><U>REPEAL OF CONSOLIDATION LAW COSTS
MAINE NOTHING</U></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=center><U><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></U> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Stonington- Repeal of the school
consolidation law (question 3 on the ballot) will <U>not</U> cost Maine
taxpayers one cent.</FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial> There is significant
information which suggests that there is <U>no net cost savings</U> to school
consolidation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Gov. John Baldacci is making incorrect
claims about the cost of repealing his failed school consolidation
mandate.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>He is trying to confuse voters by saying
the $37 million which was cut from state aid to schools as part of the school
consolidation law is really savings. "Even his own staff knows
that is not correct," said Skip Greenlaw, head of the Maine Coalition to
Save Schools, which collected 61,193 signatures needed to put repeal on the Nov.
3 ballot. "Basically, the governor needed to cut $37 million in
expenditures to balance his budget last year," Greenlaw said. </FONT><FONT
size=2 face=Arial>"Now he's trying to influence the outcome of the referendum
vote by rewriting history." The reality is that by voting Yes on question
3 to repeal consolidation, Mainers will save money now and in the future.
Voters in 125 communities understood the issue of costs and savings when
they rejected the mandate despite the threat of penalties that are scheduled to
go into effect next year. Consolidation in most areas of the state cost
more than it saves.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Here are the facts:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>-Among the 26 new districts that did
form under the consolidation mandate, there has been an unexpected shift onto
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial> communities, with property tax
rates going up by 25 to 30 percent in some areas. Towns that are getting
hit by tax hikes want out, but there is no escape hatch in the law.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>-The largest hidden cost in the law is
the requirement that teacher contracts be merged, which will lead to a leveling
up of pay scales. Those merged contracts will cost some communities a half
a million dollars or more each year in increased teacher costs.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>-The greatest missed opportunity for
cost savings is the law does not recognize regional cooperatives as a legal
alternative to mandated consolidation, even though these could apply to all
school districts, regardless of size.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>-The current mandate actually exempts 65
districts, comprising 55 percent of the students in Maine- the same regions
where the majority of school funding is spent. Governor Baldacci also
claims that 85 percent of Maine students are now served by the reorganized
districts. This is patently untrue. The law has managed to
consolidate enough districts to serve 27 percent of our students.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>"Why aren't we encouraging all districts
to work together on collaborations that make sense for the cities and towns
involved instead of trying to perpetuate failed legislation?" Greenlaw
asked. The state has spent more than $4 million to try and enforce the
mandate, but Baldacci's own commissioner of education acknowledges that it is
too soon to quantify whether any money has been saved.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Baldacci made his claim about savings
(otherwise known as reduction in state aid) in a letter paid for by the Maine
Democratic Party that was sent out on Wednesday, Oct 14 and emailed to enrolled
democrats in the state. Greenlaw</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>said he was personally disappointed that
the governor had decided to take his case only to Democrats and not to all Maine
taxpayers. "The letter to Democrats suggest that he wants to rally his
political base to defeat Question 3.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Educational matters have never been a
partisan issue in Maine, and I believe that the governor has done a great
disservice to our children and all Maine residents by trying to make this a
partisan issue. Why is he so wed to this failed law when there are so many
other pressing issues facing the state?" Greenlaw asked.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Greenlaw invited the governor to
participate in a public debate on the repeal of the school consolidation law,
but his office declined. "I or a member of the coalition will be
more than happy to debate Governor Baldacci or Education</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Commissioner Gendron if they change
their mind", Greenlaw said. "It's time to clear the air about how much
this mandate already had cost taxpayers in the state."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=2 face=Arial>"The prudent choice is to repeal the
school consolidation law by voting YES on Question 3. Repeal will cost
Maine taxpayers nothing; consolidation may cost Maine taxpayers much more in the
long run," Greenlaw concluded.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>