East Machias Selectmen Encourage “No” Vote on Consolidation

By Will Tuell

Downeast Coastal Press, 11/04/2008

East Machias Selectmen Kenneth “Bucket” Davis, Dale Richardson and Bob Chase unanimously passed a resolution at their October 30 meeting urging East Machias voters to reject a 12-town school consolidation plan which distributes nearly $150,000 in cost savings amongst four communities. The other eight, including East Machias, will pay marginally higher amounts to be a part of the unit. None of the 12 communities can secede from the alternative organizational structure (AOS) once it has been formed.

“I've had a funny feeling on which way to go with this,” Davis said of the resolution, “but there is absolutely no savings to the Town of East Machias to be in this mess, and once you get in, you can't get out.”

Chase said that he sees the plan as “dangerous” and counter-intuitive to what the town is achieving educationally at Elm Street School currently.

“In all these discussions, I've never heard anything about academic excellence, not a thing about the curriculum at all,” Chase said. “As far as I'm concerned, the school system that we have here is probably the most efficient in the state.”

By opting out of the AOS, East Machias will be slapped with a $35,000 penalty, although Davis believes that the penalties are relatively minor compared to the costs of getting into an AOS.

“We've got to be honest with our taxpayers,” Davis said, “but I truly believe that the penalties are going to be far less of a blow then for us to get into something we can't get out of.”

Richardson said that the only way any of the reconfigured school districts can save money is if they make drastic cutbacks in personnel.

“That's the only way you can save money to start with, if you've got to save money quick,” said Richardson, “You can save it over night. You just go down there and give every other teacher a pink slip, and you've saved half of your teachers’ budget. That's the only way you can [save], but we can't do that.”

Richardson said that he sees Elm Street School taking a hit educationally if the town approves being a part of the new configuration.

“I guess the biggest thing that really bothers me is the extra programs at Elm Street that you'd have to do away with,” he said. “The kids aren't going to get as good an education. That's the bottom line.”

 “I think it's ridiculous to go along with the state on this issue,” said Chase. “It's just a bunch of gobbledygook. There's no substance to it at all.”

East Machias will hold a public hearing on the issue at 6 p.m., November 24, at the Municipal Building. Townsfolk will then head to the polls December 9 to approve or reject the proposed unit. A yes vote will mean that voters approve; a no vote means that voters will chose to remain independent of the AOS. If the unit fails to get towns with at least 1,000 students, all of the 12 towns will remain on their own as they are currently. In that case, all will face penalties whether they approve or reject the plan, unless legislators amend the law, repeal it, or send it out to voters for repeal.