top dog of whyME, ME If property owners are responsible for funding education and every property owner pays the same ratio, what is the problem?report abuse

CatTailMom of Aroostook, ME Mr. Nault: You are correct; the purpose of school reorganization was to save money. This was accomplished by eliminating $37 million from the 2008-09 state subsidies to Maine schools.

As best I can tell - and I've been watching this catastrophe unfold since it began in January 2007 - there was no consideration given to the actual impact on individual Maine schools, students, citizens, towns, you-name-it. The whole thing was a cover story.

It would have been so much easier for the state's school systems that are actually being affected by reorganization (another story) had the state simply said, "OK, $37 million gone. Adjust your budgets or figure out some cost-sharing strategies." No, they created the fiction that eliminating local-level administration would save $37 million; cut that amount from the GPA; and then ordered Maine to recreate the entire education system in under 2 years.

One can only hope that the repeal petition is approved.report abuse

Jerry Nault of Windsor, ME The nuances of funding education presented in the article are enlightening to say the least. Was this sort of thoughtful discussion even raised by the legislature when the school consolidation bill surfaced? It's almost as if the sole purpose of the legislation was to save the millions of dollars found in the fiscal note and the local districts get to figure out the rest.report abuse