George Crawford of Harrington, ME People are elected to School Boards to do waht is in the best interest for their community. Winslow is right in rejecting consoldiation if they feel that it is not a benefit to their community. Consolidation has been presented to the public by the state Department of Education as a savings for towns by cutting adminisstration and putting the money supposedly back into the classroom. Many communities are finding that consolidation will cost them more.
The loss of local control is a big pitfall of the law. Going from having direct control over a school system to having to share it with other towns for theoretical long term benefits is a step backwards for democracy.
The whole consolidation law was forced through the Legislature without public input and is poorly conceived.
The school baord of Winslow should have the right to say No to the plan if they feel that it doesn't benefit their town. The other problem with the law is that the town even if it does vote No when it goes to referendum will still be forced by the state to try to reach a solution so that they are in compliance.
Demcracy means the right to say No and we as citizens have the right to diagree with unfair laws. Give me Liberty or Give Me Death was said by Patrick Henry. Mainers need to have a Legislture that listens to the people and not the special interest groups. Special interest groups and thin tanks helped fabricate this bad law. We need to remember this when we elect the Legisalture again in November. Think about that when voting in the fall. Bravo to Winslow for standing up to the Department of Education. This law is being portrayed by the state as a win-win situation through publcity. Maine's educational system and local democracy are being lost because of this law. Democracy is ours to lose. We need not to submit for the greater good. This was called communism and fascism. NO THANKS!report abuse

Clyde Dyar of Mount Vernon, ME All very good points. When the Governor removed thirty five plus million from education to start this consolidation to balance the budget it put everyone in a bad position. The Governor should call the Legislature back to straighten this mess out. It is "just wrong" to mandate consolidation when there is no proof of savings or the process to deal with individual communities. Here we are with very few towns in agreement for how the process should work and January (the deadline) is just around the corner. It is a mess and it needs to be stopped before everyone has wasted more time trying to put the preverbial "square peg in a round hole". The Governor started this mess and he can stop it. Commissioner Gendron is merely following his orders.report abuse

mdenis46 of Parksville, KY Consolidation would have been a good idea IF (1) it had come from local communities which see the benefits; (2) it would result in lower costs; and (3) if it hadn't been rammed down the throats of Maine communities which DON'T want it.

Messalonskee and Waterville had a good thing going before this law -- I hope they still do -- sharing resources and buying materials as a bloc. That plan came from both school systems, and was not mandated by the state.

Down here in my county, there are two complete school systems, elementary through high school, for a county the geographic size of MSAD47 with a population about that of Waterville and SAD 47 put together. Why don't they consolidate? Because neither system wants to lose its individual identity. So we have 2 high schools and 2 middle schools within a mile of each other, yet they're separate systems, with 2 superintendents, 2 sets of sports teams, etc. Consolidation would make sense here, but it ain't gonna happen.report abuse

redsox19 of Oakland, ME Baldacci! A good captian knows when to abandon a sinking ship. This consolidation plan has been like the titanic. Let it go!report abuse