PORTLAND, Maine—Mainers have voted against scuttling the state's school district consolidation law.
Critics of the law said consolidation should not be mandatory because it doesn't make sense for many small school districts. They also say the law hasn't delivered on promised savings.
But consolidation supporters said repealing the law would cost Maine $37 million a year.
Since the law was adopted two years ago, 98 school districts have been consolidated into 26 districts. But 126 rural schools districts haven't complied with the law and now face potential state funding reductions.
With 56 percent of precincts reporting, Mainers were rejecting a referendum proposal to repeal the consolidation law by a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent in unofficial returns.
