MONDAY NIGHT WITH BE SCHOOL BOARD TIME - SHOULD BE INTERESTING

Holbrook Middle School at 6:30pm, November 30th will be the time and place for this month's school board meeting. Based on the contents of the Board members packets (in preparation for the meeting) there may be some surprises in store and maybe some fireworks - if any of the Board members will stand up and ask for an accounting from the Chair and the Interim Superintendent.

Seems Mr. Hart is doing his best these days to undermine the efforts of the legal team working on the lawsuit. And the Board Chair seems to prefer to eliminate as much input from the communities as possible. Of course the Chair has avoided having any kind of RSU committee appointed or working on a plan from as far back as last June. Additionally, we've known for a long time Mr. Hart's position has been there would be no local boards/councils or committees regardless of how the people in the communities feel.

Perhaps Eddington and Clifton should look at what Otis is planning on doing - forming an AOS - an Alternative Organized Structure. Might be a good thing for CSD 8 (Airline), too. Might make more sense than what Hart and Varnum are trying to force-feed those of us who are over paying through the tax nose. After all, Eddington already owns the Eddington Elementary School and could handle Eddington and Clifton elementary students. And our two towns own at least half, maybe two-thirds, of the Holbrook Middle School. Wonder why an AOS has never been been presented as an option to our townspeople? I'm told even Kevin Mills, school board rep from Holden who was on the RPC last time, wanted to at least look at that option.

An AOS, as I understand it, just centralizes the central office functions - the superintendent, the business office, operations and maintenance, etc. BUT each town or school district remains as it currently is - with its own budget and schools and school board. That way there is local control over the local schools. That is what most of our communities have wanted all along.

Since the state hasn't paid its portion of the school-year bill as it is (not for the past three years - maybe more) and isn't paying even the new RSUs the portion that was promised, what guarantee or benefit is there in forming an RSU for us? We give up local control and still end up paying the bill. Such a deal.

But for the smaller towns like Clifton, CSD 8 (which is comprised of four small towns), and Eddington - with what would be the lowest portion of students in the proposed RSU and the lower property valuations, there would be a higher ratio of money going toward the total RSU than if we were an AOS. The really bill tax bill would be created by the population and high valuation caused by the larger towns (like Holden and Orrington).

I don't know where Dedham's mindset in this situation but it would seem that the financial impact would not be as beneficial to them to be in an RSU as to be in an AOS.

As was explained to me by a person in Otis, towns that do not have a school - or own a school - still get to educate their students by "tuitioning" their students to those communities that do provide the schools. Some Dedham students already attend Holden and are provided transportation by SAD 63. And SAD 63 students attend high school via the "tuition" process. Seems to this writer those are just another form of the AOS concept.

Do Eddington and Clifton need Holden? Eddington has an elementary school. If we partnered with Otis, Clifton students might be able to attend either Eddington or Otis. Eddington and Clifton own enough of Holbrook to negotiate a no-cost tuition there for our students and a small cuition for Otis students. We already tuition our students into a high school. So why aren't we talking about forming an AOS with Otis. Maybe CSD 8 would like to join.

How many more people are tired of being hog-tied by the current Board Chair and Interim Superintendent who are consistently working against Eddington and Clifton? And who speaks up and says "enough is enough"? Maybe it is time.

At the moment, taxpayers in SAD 63 are paying more per student within the pre-K through grades 8 in the SAD 63 programs than the cost of tuition to any of the three high schools. When we consider that all of the bills do get paid by the end of the school year, even though the state claims a shortfall for most of the last half of the year (this year the shortfall is expected to be $340,000. or more), there can only be one way the SAD 63 schools stay open and everyone gets paid...the portion of the school budget we are being charged locally must have been significantly inflated. (And even that left over $117,000. to pave that second parking lot at the Holden School last year...)

Let Holden form an RSU with Orrington and Dedham. Maybe CSD 8 will want to re-think its position. After all, how much influence will any of its four towns have on the large RSU Board with Orrington, Dedham and Holden if there are no local councils? Something to think about?

And what started this line of thinking? A particular meeting November 17 where the Chairs of those school boards (SAD 63 included) met to consider eliminating the citizen representative in any Regional Planning Committee for the forthcoming RSU - and where they told Otis they should join the RSU with Ellsworth (even though the voters in Otis have voted TWICE not to do so, because Otis intends to form an AOS.) The Town of Otis may be the smartest of us all.

People should read the public documents being written and presented by the various members of the SAD 63 school board. And you trust these people to look out for your best interests and those of your communities? You should attend more of the school board meetings and watch them in action. As I said, Monday night may be interesting.