FLASH-GENDRON RULES ON ORRINGTON-DEDHAM RSU

With only two days to go before Commissioner of Education Gendron leaves office, she reportedly got around to ruling on the request from Orrington and Dedham School Districts' request that they be allowed to form their own RSU, separate from any consolidation with SAD 63. This news was reportedly received yesterday (Wednesday), according to a reliable source who talked with this writer today.(NOTE: It has taken her four months to rule on their application, which consolidation law says she was to repond to within 12 DAYS.)

Since SAD 63 has written to the Commissioner in opposition to Orrington & Dedham's application, this writer asked what basis Orrington and Dedham used to convince the Commissioner to rule in their favor. (As readers may recall, Eddington School Board Member Karen Clark reported to the Eddington Board of Selectmen this month the reasons were this blog and a former email written last December by this writer, a discussion of which is provided in an earlier posting.)

Today's source, who was at the previously cited meeting in Holden earlier this month, stated there were three primary reasons cited by Orrington and Dedham for not consolidating with SAD 63.

1. In 2007, the SAD 63 members of the Regional Planning Committee refused to sit at the designated places at a planning committee table and, instead, chose to sit in the general audience while wearing their name tags.

2. In 2007, the former SAD 63 Chairwoman of the School Board, (prior to Don Varnum) who subsequently resigned during the law suit involving the former Superintendent Louise Regan, wrote some kind of a memorandum stating the regional planning committee was disorganized.

3. In December 2009, while the various school districts did not want Otis to be considered as a potential partner in the new consolidation, the SAD 63 School Board submitted TWO Letters of Intent to the Commissioner, one of which included the Otis School District.

The following is just this writer's opinion regarding the above.

Reasons #1 and #2 as cited above are ANCIENT HISTORY. I know there are a lot of people in this region who can't get past the covered wagon stage of life, but really! NONE of those reasons can be used to justify what will be against the best intersts of the taxpayers or in the best interests of the education of the students. Apparently those issues are of no concern to the Chairmen of the School Boards in Orrington or Dedham.

Reason #3 has to do with HONOR and ETHICS. (Even though it appears that as of this date, the Otis School District has decided - aka been forced - to join with the Ellsworth School District, that was not the case last December.) Last Fall, a representative from Otis actually came to a SAD 63 School Board meeting and requested SAD 63 consider including OTIS in any future consolidation. The Board agreed to do so. Once one's word is given, it should be honored. Where does Orrington or Dedham get off thinking it had the right to bully the SAD 63 School Board into breaking its' word? And why would the Commissioner think she should honor such a bullying tactic?

On the other hand, perhaps the Commissioner's decision was really RETALIATION against SAD 63, in which case perhaps SAD 63 and the taxpayers in Eddington, Clifton and Holden should file an appeal with the NEW incoming Commissioner. Remember, the SAD 63 School Board had to file a legal action against Commissioner Gendron just to get her to do her job re: the lawsuit involving Louise Regan. And in light of how that appeal went in front of Maine's Supreme Court, one might think Commissioner Gendron was rightfully "embarrassed." So was this an opportunity to retaliate for that embarrassment? Do you think?

On the other hand, none of the Orrington or Dedham government officials (Selectmen) chose to attend the meeting Holden Town Manager John Butts held earlier this month. And he extended invitations to the town government officials as well as the members of the school board. Granted, Orrington Selectmen were in the middle of the toxic dump issue that was coming up for a vote, BUT it is the town government that determines the school budget for Orrington, not the School Board. And one would think the town government would be "interested" in how property taxes are going to be impacted there over the next several years because of the lack of state public education funding.

Senator Richard Rosen, who attended this past Monday's SAD 63 School Board meeting, stated the financial situation for public education in Maine will be dire next year once federal stimulus money stops. This year is bad. Next year will be significantly worse. Orrington will get no financial help from Dedham. And SAD 63 will get no financial help from anyone. But do we really want to have a school board comprised of individuals so antagonistic to working with us? Feels like putting Iran and Israel in the same bed together. Maybe it's better to leave the toxic dump in Orrington and not ask them to bring their environment into our neighborhood.