Press Herald Interviews Fairman About School Consolidation

The Portland Press Herald interviewed Janet Fairman, an associate professor of education at the University of Maine, for the article, “Tax relief scarce in school consolidations.” Fairman, who co-wrote two studies on school reorganization in Maine, said research showed consolidation did seem to work when it came to expanding opportunities for students across the district. “Our research did not show a tremendous cost savings. One of the main reasons was districts that chose to consolidate then chose to use those savings to expand or improve educational programs for students,” she said. Fairman also said she thinks more studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of consolidation, both financially and academically.