Page A6 Bar Harbor Times 2-26-98 Editorial Schoolhouse vote When they go to the polls next week we urge Mount Desert voters to approve the transfer of the former Sound Schoolhouse to the Mount Desert Island Historical Society. That group plans to restore and operate the building as a museum and learning center. Presently the property is sitting idle. Without proper care and investment the building, which was once the focus of a thriving village, will continue to deteriorate. From every angle this proposal is a win-win proposition. The society gets a new facility while the town gains a strengthened institution as well as enjoying the benefits of having an integral part of its past lovingly and carefully preserved well into the future. Even though the town will relinquish control, it will not divest itself of every control it has over the property. Selectmen have wisely insisted that the schoolhouse and grounds revert to the town should it no longer be wanted by the society, thereby preserving the public's interest in property in perpetuity. Throughout the last decade the term "public- private partnership" has been bandied about to the point where it often is little more than a cliché. Here, though, is a fine example of how a private group and a community can cooperate to the benefit of all. We urge Mount Desert citizens to help make the dream of the MDI Historical Society become a reality.