To the Editor:
Thank you to all the concerned folks who have participated in the public hearings regarding the adoption of a consolidation plan for the towns of Damariscotta, Newcastle, Bristol, South Bristol, Nobleboro, Jefferson, Edgecomb, Bremen, Southport, Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor. After attending three of the hearings, it seemed to me that there was some confusion about the purpose of the vote on Jan. 27.
The referendum on that date is not about whether statewide consolidation should be approved. It is concerned with only whether the local plan as proposed should be adopted.
After school committee members and municipal representatives from each of the towns spent a good part of two years and costly legal fees developing the plan in the best interest of their municipalities, it would be unreasonable to vote it down.
The fact that a referendum proposing the repeal of the consolidation law is hanging over this effort to fulfill the state requirements is disheartening to those of us who have worked so hard to prevent our towns from being punished for not doing so.
We cannot gamble on the outcome of an anti-consolidation vote. If consolidation is not repealed by a state-wide vote, any town without a plan will suffer the consequences of loss of subsidies, and in Jefferson’s case, great jeopardy to our proposed new school building funding.
As a Jefferson school committee member and taxpayer, I urge a yes vote on Jan. 27, so we will have our plan in place and may rest assured that we have not risked financial loss to our town.
Ellie Day, Jefferson School Committee, Jefferson
