In June, I voted against forming regional school units, a plan that would not work for all schools in Maine. It was too dramatic of a change in too little time. I have listened to the public and have been working on a plan that would give school districts another choice – union school associations, or USAs.

By not actually merging schools, we could avoid cost shifts, governance, property ownership and school choice issues. Schools would be able to now focus on maximizing savings and service quality. The USA option allows districts to remain independent, yet share services to cut costs. School and community leaders need to be able to choose between consolidation or collaboration to best meet our savings targets and the needs of both the schools and their students. This could be done without the union board having the power to close schools.

We need to provide districts with more options if we want their cooperation.

Rep. Peter Edgecomb

Caribou