A SuperSAD state of affairs....

When he was elected to office Governor Baldacci had the idea that consolidating school districts would save the state lots of money. He decreed that all districts must have a certain number of students. We were instructed that we must establish a contract with other towns to consolidate the school districts we created of our own free will. We were then threatened with big fines if we did not comply.

The problem is that the state has no authority to force us to enter into an agreement with other towns. The threat of a fine constitutes what is called "duress".


(Duress in the context of contract law is a common law defense, and if one is successful in proving that the contract is vitiated by duress, the contract may be rescinded, since it is then voidable.
Duress has been defined as a "threat of harm made to compel a person to do something against his or her will or judgment; esp., a wrongful threat made by one person to compel a manifestation of seeming assent by another person to a transaction without real volition." - Black's Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)) - Wikipedia.

This is a classic case of bullying. We don't allow it in our schools, but we do in the state government? They have no right to force us into a contract against our will. The proposed alliance between SAD #43, 21, 39 and The Town of Hanover will cost us more money and give us less control over our schools. This is irrational. We need to turn down tghis and any other consolidation, and fight the state in the courts. Our stste government has slowly worked to take power away from the people (and municipal government). It is time we stand up to the bullies and take control of our lives and the education of our children. Our forefathers faught on the battlefield to protect our rights, now it is our turn to protect our rights against a government gone awry.

If we don't stand up for our rights, nobody else will.

One of the problems with the consolidation plan, it was passed through the House and Senate without full understanding of how things would work. A lot of back-peddling has had to be done, in order to comply with the law.
If we the voters turn this down, it would be a close enrollment in order to comply without being fined. There is a way around the law.

I disagree Mr. Saisi. The major problem with Maine is the insistence of the populace to cling to "town/city" jurisdictions. Most of the rest of the country has moved to county forms of government to provide the bulk of services to its people.

Far more efficient. In Maine, every little town is trying to re-invent the wheel, trying to keep up with all the rules and regulations implemented by the state and feds.

It's time to trash that theory and centralize decision making. I don't think local opinions really enhance decision making.

Sorry.

Dave, so you think the politicians in Augusta should run our lives??
Sorry, no sale here.

you think the politicians in Augusta should run our lives??

isn't that why we have elections... and government.... to elect people to make certain decisions for us?

"Certain" decisions?? Where do we draw the line? Nazi Germany fell victim to the same thinking.

What do you suggest as an alternative?

I support keeping the state out of it. Governor Baldacci had a dream one night and *poof* it became an edict. Nobody discussed it at length and there certainly couldn't have been a cost analysis done.

I have no problem with the SADs merging, on their own terms. I believe SAD 43 and SAD 21 could do well as a single entity. However, I also believe cost savings can be had by sharing resources and using technology more effectively.

As for the state budget, I believe they need to live within the money they already receive. There are way too many agencies in our state government, some of which are either duplicating the efforts of non-profit agencies, or competing with commercial efforts.