School Consolidation

In MSAD 56 where I teach and in MSAD 34 where I live, we have just voted to consolidate our school districts.  Despite much trepidation on the part of many people, the vote was really not that close and both school districts voted to combine, beginning in July 2009, less than a year away.

Not that the state gave us much choice.  It is a law that schools must consolidate unless they are already a certain size.  Then they left it up to the people to vote.  However, if the people decided not to consolidate, the state was going to fine the school district a huge chunk of their funding.  The loss of funds would devastate any school district that said no.  I doubt MSAD 56 could have continued to function without the state funds.  I suspect a third of the teaching staff would have been let go and the smallest of our three elementary schools would have been forced to close.  Maybe even the smallest two.  I suspect those of us who survived the cuts would have had more than thirty students per classroom.

Luckily, the people of both school districts made the only decision they could: to consolidate.  For good or for bad, we will soon be one school district.  I suspect the good will far outweigh the bad.  Then again, I usually see the glass half full.