To the editor:

Local school boards are scrambling to cut costs in reaction to Maine’s current fiscal crisis. Significant time is being spent on seemingly insignificant expenditures like copy paper usage, reconfiguring bus routes and the like, but Maine’s fiscal situation is serious.
Our state’s tiny population is getting tinier; we are one of only three states in the union losing population. Maine’s $438 million shortfall combined with our previous years’ debt means that each Maine family of four “owes” an additional $4,400. Maine, the “grayest state” in the nation, places a growing burden on fewer workers. As if that isn’t bad enough, we also have $12 trillion in total national debt or $40,000 per person, according to www.usdebtclock.org. We have maxed out both Maine’s and Uncle Sam’s credit cards.
Where do we begin?
1.) Be thankful for the individuals we have elected. They are working hard, but we must realize that their hands are tied in many ways.
2.) Be proud of our schools.
3.) Be ready to take action: donate money directly to our schools, start an “educational foundation,” volunteer, contact town councilors, and notice new legislation that can give municipalities some free market options that naturally open competition and lower costs.
Consider this potentially cost saving suggestion: “An Act to Allow School Districts and Municipalities the Option to Seek Less Expensive Health Insurance Alternatives.”
Currently school districts in Maine have one option for teachers’ health insurance. One. This needs to change. Hundreds could be saved per teacher with no change in benefits. Supporting this legislation is a “no brainer.” Similar legislation was voted down last year. Why? Partisan politics. Tell everyone you know. Flood legislative committee members with e-mails from Scarborough to St. George and from Kittery to Caribou.
For contact information, visit www.maine.gov/legis/execdir/Member%20Profiles.htm. Hurry, the deadline is Feb. 25.

Heather Sirocki
Scarborough