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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Good evening everyone,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>We have sent another press release out trying to
communicate our story. Please give this your widest
circulation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Thank you to Betsy Saltonstall for appearing on
WGAN this morning. We heard reports that she did a great job.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Please tune in to WVOM-FM 101.3 in Augusta or 103.9
in Bangor Wednesday morning from 8 to 8:45 AM when there will be another debate
with our own Bucket Davis.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>In addition to voting early this week and
asking our friends to do the same, please consider calling all your friends who
live in Maine or who are on your e-mail list and asking them to vote YES on
3.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Thanks and good night,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Skip</FONT></DIV>
<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> Monday, October 26, 2009 8:58 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Press release</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><O:P></O:P><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black"><O:P>Press release for immediate
release</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black">Monday, October 26, 2009</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black">Maine Coaltion to Save
Schools</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black">Contact: Skip Greenlaw,
460-1260</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black"><BR> </DIV></O:P></SPAN></DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">
<P class=MsoNormal><BR></P></SPAN>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black"><O:P></O:P></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black"><O:P></O:P></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black">SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON QUESTION
3<O:P></O:P></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black"><O:P></O:P></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black">Why <ST1:STATE w:st="on"><ST1:PLACE
w:st="on">Maine</ST1:PLACE></ST1:STATE> should vote YES to Repeal the School
Consolidation Law<O:P></O:P></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Repealing the law will <I>not</I>
cost <ST1:PLACE w:st="on"><ST1:STATE w:st="on">Maine</ST1:STATE></ST1:PLACE> any
money.</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> There was a
$36 million reduction in the state budget for education. That money was cut
from schools last year and it’s not coming back to the classroom or going
anywhere else.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><O:P></O:P></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">55% of
<ST1:PLACE w:st="on"><ST1:STATE w:st="on">Maine</ST1:STATE></ST1:PLACE> students
are in 66 school districts that are <I>unaffected</I> by this
law.</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> They are
exempt from consolidating because of size, geography, or other special
exemptions granted by the DoE. <O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Around
200 <ST1:PLACE w:st="on"><ST1:STATE w:st="on">Maine</ST1:STATE></ST1:PLACE>
communities in 125 school districts are <I>adversely</I> affected.
</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">They followed the
law, created plans, voted on them, and will now be fined $5 million beginning
July 2010 for voting against these plans that would cost them even more money
than paying the penalty. These are primarily rural areas whose students are
going to lose resources and be treated differently from students in more
populated areas of <ST1:PLACE w:st="on"><ST1:STATE
w:st="on">Maine</ST1:STATE></ST1:PLACE>. <O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Don’t
believe it when you hear opponents of repeal say the majority of students in the
state are in consolidated districts.</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> They are not. Only 27% of
<ST1:PLACE w:st="on"><ST1:STATE w:st="on">Maine</ST1:STATE></ST1:PLACE>'s
students are in the 26 districts that consolidated. The administration is
playing with the numbers to try and make them look far better than they really
are.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><O:P></O:P></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Consolidation has cost
money.</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Here are
some examples: Windham-Raymond reported to the Legislative Education Committee
that their cost of consolidation is $575,000 and Freeport-Pownal-Durham reported
their cost of consolidation is $340,000. There are towns where taxes have
increased largely because of consolidation. In Pownal taxes are up 25%,
<ST1:PLACE w:st="on"><ST1:CITY w:st="on">Durham</ST1:CITY></ST1:PLACE> up 19%,
Alna up 33%.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Some
savings have been reported from 4 of the 26 new districts but they do not
present the total picture.</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> One of these is in the <ST1:CITY
w:st="on"><ST1:PLACE w:st="on">Bath</ST1:PLACE></ST1:CITY> area and they had 5
years to plan and got considerable support from the state. This was a voluntary
consolidation which was done the right way – with enough time and money to make
it work.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Bigger
bureaucracies cost more</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. After the last big push for
consolidation - the Sinclair Act in 1957 - administrative costs soared. Per
pupil spending on administration grew 406 percent, in 2002 dollars, from 1950 to
1980. Over that same period, the number of people working for the Maine
Department of Education tripled. <O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><ST1:PLACE w:st="on"><ST1:STATE w:st="on"><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Maine</SPAN></B></ST1:STATE></ST1:PLACE><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> school districts are working
together.</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> The
school consolidation law does not recognize unions, yet there are many such
structures today that are saving districts money. While there are 218 districts
today, there are only 136 central offices, since many districts share a
superintendent and were doing so before the consolidation mandate was
passed.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Repealing the law does not have to
undo any consolidation that has worked.</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> For the 26 districts that did
consolidate, simple legislation will allow them to stay together as School
Administrative Districts (SADs) or unions. Repeal would give cities and towns
the option of getting out of a new regionalized district if it’s not working for
them. Right now the law prohibits any community from
withdrawing.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">We are
asking <ST1:STATE w:st="on"><ST1:PLACE w:st="on">Maine</ST1:PLACE></ST1:STATE>
people to stand united for repealing the school consolidation law so we can get
about the real task of identifying real savings in our
schools.</SPAN><O:P></O:P></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><O:P></O:P></SPAN></B></P><BR><BR>skip
greenlaw wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=mid:885917DCAFD14941A70FD07C519C7BF3@IBM3541B964658
type="cite">
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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Good evening everyone,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Betsy Saltonstall of Rockport will be a guest on
the Tim and Mike radio program from 7-8 AM Monday morning, October 26, 2009
WGAN radio,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>560 AM. I am not certain whether it is a
call-in show or e-mail questions. I think that she will be debating
Newell Augur.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Please tune in and support her.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Thanks,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Skip</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>