Maine’s school district consolidation effort is featured in a Governing Magazine piece about local government mergers.

In 2007, Gov. John Baldacci initiated the school district consolidation issue as a means of saving money. Since then it’s been a hot-button issue in the Legislature and in local campaigns.

Governing’s story features Leon Duff, superintendent of the Monmouth schools – all three of them. It’s a part-time job.

Reporter Josh Goodman writes:

“Maine has been hit by a decades-long demographic storm. The population has been getting older to the point that the state now has the highest median age in the country. The number of K-12 students has plummeted from 250,000 in the 1970s to fewer than 200,000 today…

“While Maine's demographic dilemma is unusual, the story of outdated local governments is a familiar one, especially in the Northeast and Midwest. In many places, municipal boundaries have been set in stone since the horse-and-buggy era.”

Click here for the full story.