With all the talk in the Legislature about school consolidation in order (presumably) to save money and hold the line on taxes, it strikes me as rather odd that it is not looking at cutting the size of the Department of Education.

Cuts there would be less harmful to our schools than what is being forced on us by our well- meaning friends in Augusta. The cutting of a few superintendents or middle managers, all of whom are professional educators, will do little to reduce the cost of education. Whereas, we most likely could cut a hundred people from the Department of Education without harming our schools in the least.

And now we are talking real savings and it would free up enough space on the fifth floor of the state office building so that the ones left would all be able to have their own desk. One has to wonder why that department needs to be as large as it is, unless the consolidation plan includes taking over local control. And that's the way it looks to me.

Clayton McLaughlin

Benton