To the editor:
Gov. Baldacci, the Commissioner of Education, and the Appropriations Committee proposed legislation earlier this year which will have a profound impact upon the State of Maine and the education of our children. The Governor’s proposal, prepared and put forward without input from, and behind the back of the Education Committee, is opposed by many; despite opposition, however the Governor and his minions insist that consolidation is in the best interests of the State and Aroostook County.
Gov. Baldacci’s ill-conceived, poorly thought out scheme to balance his budget by forcing consolidation of schools rises to a new level of incompetence. The “plan” (I prefer to call it a “scheme”, which can be defined as an “underhand plot”) is a recipe for disaster that would be laughable if many of our shortsighted and arrogant elected officials were not seriously considering the plan. The scheme places no regard on values that County people pride themselves on: logic, common sense, community, family and local decision making.
The Governor and the Appropriations Committee tout their plan as a way to save millions of dollars and to help the Governor balance his budget. The plan requires the consolidation of all schools into 80 K-12 “regional schools units” statewide with an average of 2,500 students in each “unit”. Locally elected school boards, school administration districts (SADs) consolidated school districts, and school unions would be immediately abolished. In central Aroostook County, the scheme calls for Easton, Mars Hill, Bridgewater and Ashland to be merged with the Presque Isle school system. Imagine a child living on the outer limits of Bridgewater or Portage Lake busing to Presque Isle daily. Hey, what third-grader wouldn’t like to spend two or three hours a day on a school bus commuting to school?
Long bus rides and significantly increased transportation costs are minor issues when compared to the two most troubling components of the Governor and Appropriations Committee’s scheme. Most disturbing are small school closings and loss of local control. The Governor would have us believe that “schools won’t close” and that “small communities will still have a say in their children’s education”. The proponents of this scheme that “promise” no loss of local control and no school closings are disingenuous at best and, in reality, simply lying to us.
If this ill-begotten scheme becomes law, why would any regional school unit, which would possess the majority share of the voting power with a new school board, keep open small and distant schools when the pupils can be crammed into one centrally located building? The obvious and truthful answer is that the new board would undoubtedly opt to close these schools. Although a town could vote to keep the school open, the town would lose all state funding. Anyone who says otherwise is blind and unrealistic.
Consider a school district of 2,500 students. There would be but a few districts in all of Aroostook County. The small schools would have a small voice on the new school board, and small school closings are a certainty. Loss of rural high schools means a loss of community, identity, and unity that make our small towns so wonderful and unique. Kids grow up knowing everybody in their school, establishing meaningful bonds with teachers, and possessing a sense of self worth and identity. These things can’t be replicated in some super school. A loss of small schools means, sadly but certainly, a slow and painful death of small town Maine.
To add insult to injury, the scheme mandates that all town-owned school buildings and assets automatically become the property of the new school district. What compensation does a town receive for a state-mandated transfer of ownership of real estate and assets? Nothing. Nothing, that is, except that all debt on these buildings and assets remains the responsibility of the town. What a great way to balance the budget (a budget that is a mess in large part because of this administration). Take the assets and property of a town, give it to the State, and require the people to pay the debt. A taking without compensation raises significant legal and constitutional questions as well.
What savings does this scheme really generate? Again, the politicians feed us projections of $36 million dollars saved. Sounds great, right? However, the reality is that by having fewer districts (and thereby a fewer number of superintendents), the number of students in each district will significantly increase. The number of assistant superintendents, even under the State’s plan, will nearly double. The number of assistant administrators and other mid-level administration will increase by more than a third. Any savings generated by the reduced number of superintendents will be wiped out by adding layers of administration. The only real area of savings is in the special education field — those children who require the most help. The need for special education programs and teachers will at least remain the same (and in all likelihood, increase, as students are forced into larger classes and receive less direct attention), yet the Governor’s plan calls for a significant decrease in the number of special education directors.
Viewed objectively, the Governor’s plan would intially save, at best, $4 million not the $36 million the Governor espouses. But hey, $4 million is $4 million right? Wrong. The current proposed plan also requires that all existing contracts for superintendents and teachers, as well as other administrators, be honored. In other words, despite the consolidation, and despite the need for fewer administrators, the Governor’s law would require municipalities to pay teachers, superintendents, and other administrators (even though they may not have jobs). Rather than saving money, this plan will actually cost money and will leave in its wake children left behind, communities torn apart, and added layer of bureaucracy and waste.
What can be done about this proposal? Contact your local representatives and voice your opinion. Rural and coastal schools throughout Maine are extremely upset at this proposal, yet our elected officials, including Sen. John Martin, ignore the desires and demands of their constituency in the name of arrogance, self preservation and career aspirations. Other elected officials, including Rep. Jackie Lundeen, Sen. Roger Sherman and Rep. Edgecomb (who also serves on the Education Committee), are doing what they can to combat this disastrous plan. It is sad and shocking to see certain elected officials from Aroostook County jump at the command of Gov. Baldacci, a governor who was elected by just over a third of Mainers. It is time for representatives from rural Maine, particular those in Aroostook County, to stand by their constituents, their small towns and communities, rather than to advance their own agendas and careers at the expense of our children.
Norman Trask
Easton
