East Machias to battle state on school plan

Bangor Daily News, August 30, 2007

(excerpts) They’re ready to do battle with a state they say is wrong.

Their weapon: the court system.

Their objection: a statewide school consolidation plan they maintain is going to "injure" their school.

This community of 1,000 residents is "damn mad" about the state’s plan to consolidate school districts, which they say will do more harm than good, and they plan to sue the state to stop it.

"This just burns me up," school board Chairman Bucket Davis said Tuesday
....

"Dammit, they expect you to turn your keys, your deeds your identity and everything over, even your surplus," Davis said of the new law. "They won’t get our surplus because I’ll have the voters spend it."

Despite its opposition to the plan, East Machias has filed its required notice of intent. "The law requires me as a school board member to proceed with due diligence and I will do so as a member of the school committee," Rensema said.

State appears to back away from local issues (letter)

Kennebec Journal, August 29, 2007

(excerpt) In the July issue of the Maine Townsman, Geoff Herman of the Maine Municipal Association writes, "a surprising number of our currently elected legislators are of the opinion that state government has every right to abolish existing local units of government and create new units of local government without even allowing the local voters to weigh-in."

He goes on to say that this is what the governor's school consolidation proposal and the appropriation subcommittee's proposal would have done. This concept of treating voters as if they don't deserve to have a part in decisions that will have a major impact their children's lives and their property taxes was a key part of the school consolidation debate.

It took a group of legislators who made up the rural caucus to promote the idea that voters needed to be given the opportunity to express their opinion on this major element of the state budget.

Augusta plan rejection has leaders miffed

Kennebec Journal, August 29, 2007

(excerpt) It took the state less than 24 hours to tell city school leaders it might reject Augusta's proposal not to join with a neighboring school district.

Five days after that, Augusta educators are still trying to find out, in writing, why.

They don't know why the state's calculation of a possible merger of Augusta schools and School Administrative District 11 is more than a half-million dollars off the city's calculation, which they say was based on state numbers.

At stake, just days before a state filing deadline, is whether the Augusta Board of Education's unanimous vote last week to go it alone and not consolidate with SAD 11 will be rejected by the state due to the discrepancy in numbers.

In a presentation to the board last week, Superintendent Cornelia Brown said Augusta taxpayers would have to pay $560,000 more per year for schools if Augusta merged with SAD 11, which has schools in Gardiner, West Gardiner, Randolph and Pittston.

Upon learning of the Augusta board's vote and the $560,000 figure in the newspaper the next day, however, state Department of Education officials said their calculation of the financial impact shows Augusta taxpayers would only have to pay $27,000 more per year if Augusta merged with SAD 11. And they said consolidating the two school systems is bound to generate more savings than that $27,000 figure.

Dexter: SAD 46 set to discuss regionalization

Bangor Daily News, August 28, 2007

(excerpt) The board has notified the Department of Education that it intends to meet with SADs 4, 41, 48, 68, Harmony, Willimantic, Bowerbank, Lakeview, Medford, Greenville, Shirley, Kingsbury Plantation, Beaver Cove and SAD 64 to discuss the formation of a regional school unit.

"What we’re looking at is more than one potential formation," SAD 46 Superintendent Kevin Jordan said Monday.

The SAD 46 planning committee consists of Steve Foster, Fred Sherburne, Al Ross, Steve Crane, Jim Crane, Julie Wilcox, Shawn Lancaster, Steve Gudroe, Peter Devine, John Parola, Andy Seavey, Rodney Farrar and Jordan.

It's high time for minutes, activists say

Portland Press Herald, August 28, 2007

(excerpt) Maine’s position as one of the few states in the country where public officials are not required to keep minutes of meetings is likely to be examined after a recent lawsuit highlighted the absence of a mandatory record.

The Legislature’s fledgling Right to Know Advisory Committee is expected to look into the issue this fall, and lobbyists for news organizations said they will be pushing for change.

The activity comes after a ruling by a Cumberland County Superior Court judge last week that parts of a July 25 closed- door Portland School Committee meeting, held during an ongoing financial and management crisis, were illegal when discussion strayed from protected personnel issues to public budget matters.

The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram had challenged the legality of the private meeting under the state’s Freedom of Access Act.

Rural districts ponder school merger plan

Morning Sentinel, August 24, 2007

(excerpt) Kenneth Smith, superintendent of SAD 13, in Bingham, said most combinations he could find between his districts and other, larger systems, would result in the larger districts paying more.

That's a problem because voters in the larger districts have no incentive to join, said Smith.

"Our costs are greatly reduced, while their costs are greatly increased, so why would they want to join us?" he asked.

Smith said his school district, along with two other small, isolated school systems -- SAD 12 in Jackman and School Union 60 in Greenville -- believe they could find the savings called for by the state by joining forces -- although they would not be anywhere near the 2,500-student goal. SAD 12 and SAD 13 would not see a big change in their education costs under that combination, but Greenville would lose money.

Official: Solo plan won't fly

Kennebec Journal, August 25, 2007

(excerpt) The state will reject the Augusta Board of Education's decision not to consolidate with neighboring communities because it is based on inaccurate data, a Department of Education spokesman said Friday.

David Connerty-Marin said State Education Commissioner Susan Gendron is asking Augusta to revisit the data it used before it voted unanimously Wednesday against consolidation.

"Certainly, if you're going to reject it based on an inaccurate analysis, that's not going to work," he said.

Augusta Schools Superintendent Cornelia Brown said she had not been able to reach anyone at the state to find out why they dispute the numbers.

"I don't know how they are arriving at another figure," she said.

Will de-tracking high schools increase college attendance?

Capital Weekly, August 16, 2007

(excerpt) There is a definitive need for a comprehensive, high-quality program that features an ample dose of rigor for all students. But aspiring to a vocation or a trade is every bit as worthy as college. In fact, such a goal is far more appropriate for many students than one that seeks to plug everyone into a college prep program.

A college prep program is simply not the “be all” and “end all” of public school options. The idea that eliminating programming should be equated with de-tracking is to overstate the basis for eliminating homogeneous grouping. Proponents of de-tracking insist that a program that has tiers within the program should not be constructed. These proponents are not advocating the elimination of appropriate vocational programming for students.

Misguided solutions that seek to equate the two concepts as if they are one in the same will likely see the exact opposite transpire. As Miller notes, to do so will not create increased college enrollment rates but rather a reduced high school graduation rate that will simply give the state yet “another problem to solve.”

SAD 49 plans to stand alone

Morning Sentinel, August 23, 2007

(excerpt) "A consensus emerged, after looking at all the options, that the existing district configuration made the most sense for these four towns," SAD 49 Superintendent Dean Baker said this week.

The second plan for discussion by the school board is to partner with the town of Winslow, but so far that community has not expressed any interest in joining the Fairfield-based school district.

"The Reorganization Committee has been meeting during August," Baker said. "The state's intent is to have no more than 80-something districts and they are requiring evidence of attempting to achieve financial efficiencies and to investigate the possibility of combining with other districts."

The goal under the state's new school consolidation law is to form school systems with a minimum of 2,500 students, even if it means combining with neighboring districts.

"SAD 49 is in a simpler situation than some districts," Baker said. "We already are large enough to stand alone and there is no immediate neighbor that's expressed an interest in merging with this district.

Finding no partners, Augusta rejects consolidation

Kennebec Journal, August 23, 2007

(excerpts) Augusta schools are going to try to go it alone.

The Augusta Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to file an alternative plan with the state Department of Education, rather than consolidate with another local school unit.

Board members and administrators said Augusta tried to find consolidation partners, but found no takers. And if Augusta joined with School Administrative District 11, the only potential partner that didn't reply to Augusta's advances with a flat-out "no," it could cost Augusta taxpayers more money to consolidate than staying independent, according to Superintendent Cornelia Brown.

...

Brown said the financial data indicates that, if the two consolidated, it could cost Augusta taxpayers $564,136 more per year to partner with SAD 11, due in large part to Augusta's property valuation being considerably higher than SAD 11 communities'.

That analysis was based upon the current year's budget, for systems functioning as they are now.

"Isn't the whole idea of this to save money?" said Jane Dennison, an Augusta school board member. "If we can save money by staying on our own, isn't that what we should do?"

Judge: School board session violated law

Portland Press Herald, August 22, 2007

(excerpt) A judge on Tuesday ordered the Portland School Committee to release documents from a closed-door meeting last month, ruling that parts of the executive session were illegal.

Cumberland County Superior Court Justice Roland Cole said the committee must release notes from its attorney and two members, along with a written statement from Superintendent Mary Jo O'Connor that was distributed at the meeting.

Barring an appeal, the ruling ends a dispute between the school committee and the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram over whether a July 25 meeting, held amid concerns about a $2.5 million budget gap, should have been open to the public.

The decision puts other public officials on notice that they must meet specific requirements to hold a private meeting, said Jonathan Piper, the newspaper's lawyer.

Communities file Notices of Intent

Bangor Daily News, August 22, 2007

(excerpts)
Bangor
Bangor has discussed consolidation possibilities with SAD 63 (Holden, Eddington, Clifton), Glenburn, Veazie, Hampden and Orono. The school committee plans to vote tonight on what its Notice of Intent will say.

Hampden
SAD 22 (Hampden, Winterport, Newburgh), with an "efficient, high-performing" rating that provides an exemption from consolidation requirements, plans to remain a three-town school district.

Newport
SAD 48 (Corinna, Hartland, Newport, St. Albans, Palmyra, Plymouth) residents recommended filing a Notice of Intent to join with SAD 38 (Etna, Dixmont). The school board was expected to meet Tuesday to decide whether to accept the recommendation.

Unity
SAD 3 (Brooks, Freedom, Jackson, Knox, Liberty, Monroe, Montville, Thorndike, Troy, Waldo, Unity)may request an exemption based on geography because the district is already large at 440 square miles; it also is considering sharing services with neighboring districts. The board is expected to consider plans at its Monday, Aug. 27, meeting. The district is in the midst of building a new K-12 school in Thorndike paid for entirely with state funds.

Grant providing sidewalk for children walking to school

The Daily ME, August 22, 2007

(excerpt) Thanks to funding from the Maine Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School Program, Dover-Foxcroft will soon have a new sidewalk. The Town of Dover-Foxcroft applied for the grant funds, with technical assistance from Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC).

Dover-Foxcroft Town Manager Jack Clukey was recently notified that the MDOT Safe Routes to School Program would provide $60,000 toward construction of a sidewalk on Harrison Avenue. With the closure of the Morton Avenue Elementary and the opening of the new SeDoMoCha Elementary School on the same campus as SeDoMoCha Middle School at the end of Harrison Avenue, all of the children from Kindergarten to eighth grade are now traveling this street.

“The safety of students walking to SeDoMoCha Middle School has long been a concern in our community,” said Clukey. “With the construction of the new SeDoMoCha Elementary School on the same campus, we will now have a larger number of even younger students using this street to access school and sport facilities.”

The lack of a sidewalk on Harrison Avenue left children to walk in the street with traffic, a situation made even more perilous during winter months when growing snow banks fill the edge of the roadway. When Clukey heard about the Safe Routes to School Program, he asked the school district, health organizations and PCEDC to partner in correcting the situation.

Anti-dropout program working

Kennebec Journal, August 13, 2007

(excerpts) Jobs for Maine's Graduates sounds like a fine program: targeting students at risk of dropping out of high school, steering them toward a diploma and focusing them on getting a job.

Does it work?

Apparently so, based on the results found in "Working Maine," a Maine Department of Labor study of the graduates of the program from 1998.
...
Jobs for Maine's Graduates works in middle and high schools, finding students who are likely to drop out. Larrabee said program officials look for those who come from poor families, are not doing well in school and are skipping classes.

"They're not engaged in education and not sure why they're in school," he said.

The program operates as a class during school hours to make it easier for students to attend, he said, and offers training in leadership, communications and job skills. Larrabee said counselors and teachers try to help the students identify a goal, such as going to college or getting a specific job, and then helps tailor a way to help them reach it.

SAD 3 resists consolidation

Republican Journal, August 14, 2007

(excerpts) SAD 3 Board Chairperson Glenn Couturier informed the board Monday night that he told SADs 34 and 56 that SAD 3 plans to seek an exemption from consolidating.
...

Couturier said his concerns about consolidation are for the schools and the children who attend them. He said he is looking out for the best interest of those children and he feels it would be in the best interest for governance of the schools to remain with local taxpayers. He said consolidation would not allow for this.

Board member Katherine Eickenberg said that if SAD 3 and SAD 34 were to consolidate, the voice of SAD 3 towns would be reduced because towns with higher populations have more influence.

Couturier said that consolidation would lead to a drastic increase in taxes.

School merger doubts

Bangor Daily News, August 15, 2007

(excerpt) Maine school consolidation implemented plans for communities to begin meetings with their regional school unit. So far one meeting hosted by Orrington has met to discuss a SAD 63 morph into Brewer. Meanwhile at a not well-known public meeting at Holbrook on Aug. 2, we learned SAD 63’s agenda has formulated their own game of cards. Essentially this committee said we couldn’t afford to align with Brewer because we would have to increase costs in teacher salaries upwards of $400,000 over a couple of years. This figure was questioned by the audience for its factual information.

Tough times for state Board of Education

Portland Press Herald, August 1, 2007

(excerpt) The State Board of Education faces a major turnover of members this fall, raising concerns about the board's ability to help guide school consolidation.

Terms for two of the nine members expire today, one expires
Oct. 8, and those appointees are not seeking another term. Two
others have continued to serve on the board even though their
terms technically expired in 2005. And yet another seat has
remained vacant for more than two years.

The board plays a critical role in education in Maine. It is
responsible for advising Susan Gendron, commissioner of the
state Education Department, and the Legislature on major policy
issues. This fall, members are expected to rewrite the rules
dictating which schools get priority for construction projects,
and how much money the state contributes.

Group to track school, town spending

Kennebec Journal (update), August 1, 2007

(excerpt) The Maine Public Spending Research Group announced today that it will begin tracking town and school spending across the state.

The nonpartisan think tank based in Portland hired a firm to collect data, such as town and school budgets, tax rates and total taxes collected.

Each fall, the group will release a report to the public. Two-thirds of all tax dollars are spent at the local level, according to the group. The Maine State Chamber of Commerce is the lead sponsor of the project.