can we call it an EPIC fail?

Heeding the advice of more than 120 taxpayers unhappy with their school being named one of the lowest achieving in the state, the SAD 29 board of directors has voted not to accept federal improvement dollars that come with the label.
‘Failing school’ funding rejected: Houlton speaks out against state label, BDN, 3/24/10

Houlton gets an A+ for common sense!

More:

Officials in Houlton, including teachers, administrators and community members, have spoken out against the ranking, saying the school has been unfairly targeted. During Monday night’s public hearing, the majority of the speakers urged the school to turn down the grant money and they railed against the designation that Houlton Junior-Senior High School was a “failing school.”

And more:

David Connerty-Marin, de facto Commissioner spokesman for the state Department of Education, said Tuesday that Houlton is the only school so far that has turned down the money. He said the state did not have to get a set number of schools to agree to take the federal money in order to qualify for the program.

Good work, Houlton!  Maybe voters elsewhere don’t think their schools are “failing” either!