I attended the governor’s listening session on Jan. 24 in Lewiston. Rather than speaking there, I chose to write this letter to the editor.

First, I attended a meeting with Commissioner of Education Susan Gendron on Jan. 25, and she reported to legislators that the Lewiston listening session was positive! Amazing.

Rural citizens in the proposed Lewiston mega-district should realize that:

• Lewiston-Auburn’s mill rate effort for education is lower than that in the surrounding rural towns;

• Lewiston-Auburn would have the majority of votes in the district, and could vote for any spending they want;

• After that vote, the rural towns with a higher mill rate would then have to pay their share of the Lewiston-Auburn spending.

The property wealthy will be getting wealthier, and the property poor, poorer.

I can’t stress enough to the citizens of Androscoggin County the importance of attending the public hearing being held on the governor’s plan on Monday, Feb. 5, at 9 a.m. at the Augusta Civic Center.

Sen. John Nutting, Leeds

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