Editor:

    Governor Baldacci is traveling around the state
trying to sell his school consolidation plan and other flawed budget
ideas. Mainers will be asked to give up local decision making control
over their schools and how their tax dollars are spent. In exchange,
the Democrats promise to provide about $80 million per year in tax
relief. This comes out to $150 per household. Of course, you and I will
never see this money in our pockets. Instead of paying a superintendent
it will be spent to install a new astroturf field, or buy more laptops
so our kids can become proficient at MySpace.com.

    I urge the readers of this paper to reflect on the
track record of this administration as it pertains to fiscal
management. This is the governor who sold off the lifetime cash flow of
our state lottery to plug a short-term budget gap. This is the governor
who launched a socialized health plan that is already $35 million in
the red. This is the administration that is planning to scrap a new IT
system that they (we!) paid $50 million for.

    This administration provides a text book example of
how inept and wasteful government is at managing most anything. Do you
really want to trust this administration with the education of our kids?

David Sawicki

Cape Elizabeth