As a resident and taxpayer of Belgrade, I had three children graduate from the Messalonskee school system and now have four grandchildren in the RSU 18 school district.

Rather than draw a line in the sand, I think the selectmen and selectwomen of Belgrade, Sidney and Oakland need to take their heads out of the sand.

They are trying to turn an excellent school system into a mediocre school system and not looking at the whole picture.

The Republican governor and Legislature reduced subsidies to school districts such as RSU 18. They also pushed through charter schools, so that these school districts now will need to pay for children to go to those schools if they choose to do so.

Now the price of fuel for our school buses is rising rapidly. Our dedicated school board, superintendent and teachers are doing all they can to keep costs down and provide an excellent education for our children.

Our teachers are working for minimal wage, if you consider the many hours they work preparing lessons, teaching and grading tests, etc. We are going to lose some of these very dedicated teachers to other systems if any more cuts are made. This is should not be allowed to happen.

So I ask our town officials to support RSU 18 rather than destroy it. Most of these selectpersons must not have children or grandchildren in the system or they would be more supportive. I also would urge all parents of RSU 18 to get out and vote for the next budget; we evidently did not do our duty on Aug. 7 to defeat this agenda to turn our district into a mediocre one. I guess we need to have someone pass out fliers at all our landfills.

Lois Doran

Belgrade


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