Legislators face challenge on consolidation law
Portland Press Herald, December 12, 2007
(excerpt) Opposition to the reorganization law has been characterized by many as having its roots in some kind of narrow and provincial self-interest on the part of local school boards and superintendents.
News reports, though, indicate that the fundamental question is this: What is to be gained, beyond saving the state budget some money, by completely restructuring a system of school management that is been in place for more than a century?
Gov. Baldacci, to his credit, included in his original consolidation plan a series of reforms that went well beyond simply generating budget savings.
As a part of his proposal, the governor suggested the creation of new college scholarships, extensive teacher training opportunities, and an expansion of the school laptop program.
Whatever one thinks of those particular initiatives, at least the governor gave school and community leaders a few reasons to invest themselves in the task of reinventing how their schools are run.
The Legislature, where bold ideas go to die, dropped both the governor's reform ideas and the opportunity to make the reorganization effort about something more than an attempt to balance the budget with the plan's largely fictitious projected savings.
Now the reorganization law is back before them again, in dire need of reform.
(excerpt) Opposition to the reorganization law has been characterized by many as having its roots in some kind of narrow and provincial self-interest on the part of local school boards and superintendents.
News reports, though, indicate that the fundamental question is this: What is to be gained, beyond saving the state budget some money, by completely restructuring a system of school management that is been in place for more than a century?
Gov. Baldacci, to his credit, included in his original consolidation plan a series of reforms that went well beyond simply generating budget savings.
As a part of his proposal, the governor suggested the creation of new college scholarships, extensive teacher training opportunities, and an expansion of the school laptop program.
Whatever one thinks of those particular initiatives, at least the governor gave school and community leaders a few reasons to invest themselves in the task of reinventing how their schools are run.
The Legislature, where bold ideas go to die, dropped both the governor's reform ideas and the opportunity to make the reorganization effort about something more than an attempt to balance the budget with the plan's largely fictitious projected savings.
Now the reorganization law is back before them again, in dire need of reform.
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