school

To Sport or Not to Sport?

Last night, our local school board made the difficult decision to call off competitive sports this year. The Maine Principals Association had given a green light for sports to continue in some districts, depending on what each individual district felt was best, and so it shifted to a local decision. Honestly, my reaction is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it seems to me that some sports (cross country being a prime example) surely could find a way to compete in a socially distant fashion. You’re outside, runners generally don’t clump together too much, and you

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First Day of School, COVID Style

It’s a week later than we would have been having the kids go back to school, but they’re officially started now. It’s crazy to think about everything that’s happened since their school went on a planned two week “pause” back in March. That two weeks turned into the rest of the year, and the summer is gone by now as well. I’m grateful to be living in a part of the country where there are still low numbers. (6 active cases in my county at the moment. 53 total since this started, with 1 death. Our population in 2010 was

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Shouting a Lie Doesn’t Make It Less False

The school budget vote is coming up on Tuesday, which means (you guessed it) the “Vote No” crowd has broken the glass on their “In Case of Emergency” boxes and removed their pitchforks and torches. You can’t drive around town without seeing their signs along the side of the road. This, despite the fact that the school budget this year has reduced the local tax burden by 1.69 percent. Honestly, there are times I think the “Vote No” crowd would not be satisfied until the school district is earning a surplus and paying them to send kids to school. I

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Once More to the School Board Budget Breach

On Tuesday evening, our school board budget committee met to continue discussions for next year’s budget. And sure as the night follows day, the comment section in the local online paper went straight for the torches and pitchforks. (I imagine they each have a large glass case with a pitchfork next to their computer, boldly emblazoned in red with “IN CASE OF SCHOOL BUDGET BREAK GLASS.”) It’s really important each year that we not let the comments section of The Daily Bulldog set the tone for our school budget debate. It’s too easy to shift the footing into areas that

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School Students Shouldn’t Be a Revenue Stream

I get it. There’s money to be made in high schools and grade schools. Between school pictures, sports pictures, yearbooks, and the like, I understand there are businesses that crop up surrounding our students, and I don’t (for the most part) begrudge them the chance to carry on their business, or at least make it available. But this year, something seems different to me. It started with the early request to buy athlete pictures for Tomas and DC. No big deal. Seemed like a fine request, so we ordered a package for each of them. Then came the reminder for

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