flowerchild of augusta, ME i know my 7th grader is not ready for highschool i mean middle school is hard enough and the jr high is too much to 5th graders they just arent old enough i say cut central office put them in the schools for their office and then they can see our children daily.cut fieldtrips vacations i mean do we really need a week for winter vacation i never had that.have more kids closer to school walk.make kids bring in their supplies instead of schools supplying them etc. just examplesreport abuse

Freespeech of Gardiner, ME GREAT JOB!
Schoolboard members If you would have kept the
pray street school you could have move all the kids from Pittston and Randolph to that school and had a nice school built. IT had been all done over at taxpayer expence. But no you pretty much gave the school build alway. In hope to get the state to build you a new building on the otherside of the river.
I don't know how you can cry in the paper to try and set up a way to get a new school. People can not pay any more taxes in case you didn't know this country is going down the tube. There are 300,000 new people each week sigh up for unemployment because of the poor job market.
OH I forgot you people are getting pay raise when the rest of us are taking pay cut or losing our jobs. But don't worry just keep finding ways to up our taxes to the point were we can't pay them. Then you have to take our home and put us on the street.Then we can sign up for welfare if there is any money left.
You all should start by asking the unions to keep things just the way they are until the country comes around. Last year the taxpayers gave you more the you needed. Know you are back crying for more. WHEN WILL IT STOP! If the schoolboard does not know how bad thingS are maybe itS time you step down and put people on the board that know how bad things are.report abuse

Reader of Local, ME Moving the 8th graders into the high school will be disasterous. In no way would the children (yes children) who are in 7th grade now be emotionally ready for high school. The expectations that would be placed on them would be horrible. I know my 7th grade daughter is in no way, shape or form ready for the challenges of the high school atmosphere (boys, environment, etc). Any parent in their right mind (especially of girls) would be against this. Not everyone gets a raise every year if their company's budget is bad - why should teachers be any different? No one is saying they aren't deseving of them - but they would still have jobs and a good retirement program.report abuse

DJ of South Gardiner, ME Gardiner has done an excellent job balancing their school budget in the face of adversity, including rising heating oil and bus fuel prices. They have made many cuts, and were told "no" when they reached out to other communities to consolidate schools.

It is a shame that closing TC Hamlin and creating larger class sizes, with modular classrooms, is one of the options. The children in that community would be losing the most if their school were closed.

SAD 11 has cut administration to the bone, but I agree that, if it is possible, closing central office would be a good money saver, and would help the children the most.

I would also agree that many teachers would rather forgo a pay raise than lose their job entirely. My spouse is a teacher, and would likely make that choice.report abuse