IN YOUR MAIL - AND POST OFFICE PARKING WOES

In your mail today (or maybe yesterday), residents of Eddington, Clifton and Holden should have received the previously referenced brochure from the SAD 63 School Board describing the proposed Alternative Structure Organization (AOS) that will be on the November 2, 2010 ballot. Residents of Amherst, Aurora, Great Pond and Osborn (members of Airline CSD 8) should also have received a similar brochure from their School Board.

If this measure passes, and this writer hopes it does, the new AOS would go into effect July 1, 2011.

The following includes information contained in the brochure. To view the plan in its entirety, please visit: http://www.sad63.net/

The brochure describes how this AOS structure would work. There will be a Public Hearing on October 19, 2010 at 7PM at the Holbrook School on Highway 46 to cover the information. There will be a Public Hearing October 14, 2010 at 7PM at the Airline Community School.

This AOS plan will have no adverse impact on the instructional program of any school in either of the Member School Units.

Students of all Member municipalities may attend the high school of their choice, as allowed by state law.

The bottom line effects of this AOS structure are as follows:

A. The two school districts will continue to maintain their own School Boards. Those School Boards will continue to have the same composition, powers and duties over their same schools as they do now.

B. The two school districts will share the same Central Office, something which the two school districts have been doing since 1977. (NOTE: This blog may have stated in an earlier posting the districts have been sharing the Central Office services since 1987. That date was incorrect.) The shared Central Office under the AOS will be comprised of (1) the Superintendent, (2) one administrative assistant, (3) a business manager, (4) an operations/transportation director, (5) a special education director, (6) a special education secretary and (7) an accounts payable specialist.

C. There will be an AOS Board of Directors with a weighted means of voting authority (power) allocated on the basis of the individual towns participating in the AOS. While each town will have 1 member on the AOS Board of Directors, the member votes will be weights as follows:

Amherst: 3.5
Aurora: 1.7
Clifton: 12.1
Eddington: 34.5
Great Pond: .8
Holden: 46.4
Osborn: 1.0
TOTAL: 100.0

D. Real and Personal Property:
All real and personal property interests, including land, buildings and improvements, and all fixtures and equipment shall remain the property of each Member School Unit except for central office equipment that will be transferred to the AOS.

E. Debt:
The existing indebtedness and lease-purchase obligations of the Member School Units will remain with the respective unit.

F. Cost Savings:
Since 1977 the proposed Member School Units of Airline CSD #8 and MSAD #63 have operated as Joint Districts, sharing the costs and services of a central office. During this time we have consistently achieved operational efficiencies resulting in reduced costs. We will continue to search for opportunities to provide future savings in the proposed AOS.

G. Projected Cost Estimates:
In 2011-2012 it is estimated that $10,000 will be required for the legal costs associated with the formation of the AOS. Those projected costs will be allocated as follows:

Airline CSD #8: $699.
MSAD #6: $9,301.

H. Penalties:
If voters do not approve the formation of a regional school unit on November 2, 2010, the Member Units of the proposed AOS are estimated to lose State of Maine subsidy(state funding) for Fiscal Year (FY) as follows:
Airline CSD#8: $16,252 (tax penalty)
MSAD #6: $178,577 (tax penalty)

According to existing state law, A penalty will be assessed annually to each Member School Unit until a successful school consolidation is achieved.

This means EVERY TOWN MUST APPROVE THE FORMATION OF THE AOS in order for this measure to pass. Any resident who is confused or resistant to this measure is urged to attend one of the Public Hearings scheduled and listed above. Ask your questions there. How much more can local property owners afford to cover for the failure of Maine state government to pay its share of public education in our districts?

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News from the Post Office

Seems the bids received to repave the Eddington Post Office parking lot were considered too high by the owner of the land. The land is leased to the U.S. Postal Services, and repair of the lot with potholes to China are subject to the landowner's willingness to reduce carnage to USPS customers. So he has decided to fill and patch - again. Which generates another question. If he plans to do it before the snow flies (which will in the course of time cause water and ice holes), he's got less than three weeks. As of November 1, according to one source, asphalt will no longer be available because of the cold temperatures.

Wonder if it's possible for USPS customers to sue the landowner for damage being incurred to their cars. Undercarriage impact, wheel alignments, tire balancing, etc. Seems to me I've seen fewer weaves and curves on a soccer field than what goes on in that parking lot when people are trying to get in and out with their mail without taking a header through one of those potholes. Someone's going to get hurt and it will be that landowner's direct fault and therefore his responsibility. It's not as though those potholes just suddenly appeared.