Scott K. Porter: Guidance needed on school consolidation concerns
Bangor Daily News, December 10, 2007
(excerpt) The rules for the RSU planning process have never been clear. Lack of consistent information from the Department of Education continues to create frustration and confusion locally. Superintendents and facilitators place call after call to Augusta for guidance on, for example, cost-sharing formulas, RSU board powers, local school committees, or transportation data and get conflicting responses (and sometimes no response). So educators are left to plan in the dark, hoping that their efforts will match a blueprint in Augusta that apparently does not exist. What are the governor and education commissioner doing to ensure that the planning process follows "best practice" strategic planning steps?
The timeline for developing plans and putting them before school boards and residents is so short that solid information-gathering and effective deliberations cannot happen. The Department of Education publicly states that few if any complete plans were ready by the mandated date, Dec. 1. We believe in "data-based decisions" in our schools, yet the timeline dictated by the law doesn’t permit data-based, thoughtful decisions for the most sweeping change in Maine schooling in the past 50 years. What are the governor and commissioner doing to provide time and expertise for thoughtful deliberations on this matter so vital to Maine families, communities, and economy?
Everybody recognizes the need to live within our means. But setting unrealistic timelines, providing little guidance and fiscal support, and then threatening Maine citizens with punishments if they fail to comply is no way to achieve this important goal. We would never support such an approach in our schools. It’s morally and logistically ruinous.
(excerpt) The rules for the RSU planning process have never been clear. Lack of consistent information from the Department of Education continues to create frustration and confusion locally. Superintendents and facilitators place call after call to Augusta for guidance on, for example, cost-sharing formulas, RSU board powers, local school committees, or transportation data and get conflicting responses (and sometimes no response). So educators are left to plan in the dark, hoping that their efforts will match a blueprint in Augusta that apparently does not exist. What are the governor and education commissioner doing to ensure that the planning process follows "best practice" strategic planning steps?
The timeline for developing plans and putting them before school boards and residents is so short that solid information-gathering and effective deliberations cannot happen. The Department of Education publicly states that few if any complete plans were ready by the mandated date, Dec. 1. We believe in "data-based decisions" in our schools, yet the timeline dictated by the law doesn’t permit data-based, thoughtful decisions for the most sweeping change in Maine schooling in the past 50 years. What are the governor and commissioner doing to provide time and expertise for thoughtful deliberations on this matter so vital to Maine families, communities, and economy?
Everybody recognizes the need to live within our means. But setting unrealistic timelines, providing little guidance and fiscal support, and then threatening Maine citizens with punishments if they fail to comply is no way to achieve this important goal. We would never support such an approach in our schools. It’s morally and logistically ruinous.
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