Maine Issue Reaction

I feel like I am a perfect example of both the small town school system and the consolidation system. I come from a very small town where it is likely cows outnumber people. There is no Main street, there is no downtown. We have one store and our claim to fame, depending on who you ask, is that somewhere in Bowdoin we have the largest tire dump in the state of Maine. The elementary school is the heart of the town. Its where we go to vote and where town meetings are held. As an little kiddo I felt the community all around me. In middle and high school we went to larger schools made up of four towns. I had a graduation class of about 230, I had the AP coursed and I rode the bus for 45 minutes. I can see both sides of the argument.

However Maine is in a serious situation with its taxes. In the last 3 years Mainers have seen a variety of tax lowering bills come before them on the November ballots. 2004 it was the Palesky tax cap, more recently it was the Tax Payers Bill of Rights, and between those bills was the legislature attempt of lowering taxes with LD 1. The Palesky Tax Cap and TABOR were both shot down mainly by an effort to protect Maine schools from the devastating effect these bills would have. Maine is listed with the second highest tax burden as expressed by a percent of personal income. In 2005 Maine was listed by CNN as the most taxed state in the country, though their methods were arguably less precise. In any case the need for reform of the school system, which is the major area where Mainer’s taxes go, would relieve the burden.

There are many advantages to the larger school method. AP, art and foreign language programs become more available for students. In some cases combining school districts can open up options like vocational schooling. The wide range of offering can open up students to a new perspective. Along with the more course choices it is financially better to group districts because you are spending less per pupil per year when they are attending larger schools.

I can see the point others are making with the long school bus rides and less personalization. It is easier to give that one on one attention when you classes are 10 or 12 students in small schools, but it is not impossible to recreate that in larger schools. With the busing if you can keep the elementary schools in the towns that would leave the youngest kids on the shortest bus routes. This would also leave a school for the community to have. The middle and high school aged students can, within reason, be bussed farther to a larger combined high school. Students shouldn’t be spending hours on a bus but something reasonable should be agreed upon. As for school rivalries, lets be honest here this is not Texas. The worst school rivalries would be at first a small issue to overcome but not a permeant barrier. If they could integrate black and white students in southern schools then some silly school rivalry should be a little step to overcome.

In the end the need to change the current system out ways the need for many districts. Although reducing the 286 districts to 35 seems extreme but some sort of compromise needs to be made. There needs to be some sort of school consolidation because if taxes continue to be high then it will not be too long before another tax relief bill comes before voters
which will devastate Maine school districts