Fairman’s Maine Policy Review Report Cited in VTDigger School Consolidation Article
A 2012 Maine Policy Review report by Janet Fairman, an associate research professor of education at the University of Maine, and Christine Donis-Keller, an education consultant, was cited in the VTDigger article, “School district consolidation: Will Vermont go where Maine has been?” The Maine Policy Review report, “School District Reorganization in Maine: Lessons Learned for Policy and Process,” focused on the state’s objective to reduce 290 school districts to 80. The article states that according to the report, by the 2011–12 academic year, the districts had been reduced to 164 and the success of the effort “is still open to debate.” Gordon Donaldson, professor emeritus of education at UMaine, also was quoted in the article. He recalled his perspective on the legislation that led to school district consolidation under Gov. John Baldacci’s administration.