Another consolidation plan goes down the tubes
A couple of weeks ago, I suggested in this space that the school consolidation effort was not going as well as the administration might hope. The Freeport/Durham/Pownal merger plan, at one point turned down by the Freeport school committee, eventually got the green light from the board and is now in the hands of the commissioner. The plan, which eliminates school choice in Durham and Pownal, will likely go before voters in those three towns in November.
Up in Winslow, though, the school board shot down the proposed China/Winslow/Vassalboro/Oakland/Sidney/Belgrade/Rome merger by a unanimous vote. We have identified this merger plan as worthy of careful scrutiny because of the potential implications for school choice, but according to reports, Winslow’s rejection of the plan had more to do with the sheer size and scope of the proposed plan. It was reportedly observed by one Winslow resident that even “Caesar’s empire” did not “extend from Rome to China.”
Two other boards take up the plan tonight.