AUGUSTA: Schools could partner with Georgetown

Kennebec Journal, February 28, 2008

(excerpt) The school superintendent's office here may contract to provide some services to the tiny school system in the coastal community of Georgetown, maybe even sharing the superintendent herself.

The idea of a contract for Augusta to provide services, for a fee, to Georgetown could unite two school systems unable to find consolidation partners in the ongoing state school reorganization effort.

While it would not be a consolidation, it could centralize some services, such as payroll, in Augusta. And it could give Georgetown more options as it prepares for the impending July 1 termination of its current School Union 47.

Ripley spending plan up only slightly from last year

Morning Sentinel, February 28, 2008

(excerpt) Ripley voters will consider a spending plan slightly more than last year's $532,500 -- about $232,000 of which is for the municipal budget -- when they assemble at 10 a.m. Saturday for a town meeting at the Ripley Grange Hall.

"It may go slightly over," said Town Clerk Vernal Sinclair. "The new middle school in Dexter is going to hit us. They have started the ground work."

Sinclair said the mill rate is expected to climb from $11.45 per thousand dollars of valuation to as high as $14 per thousand, when the town adds the school work and the cost to maintain 26 miles of road.

Voters raised $95,000 last year for roads. It's expected that costs will run over because of the increase in fuel and surcharges, according to Sinclair.

Voice of the students

Bangor Daily News, February 27, 2008

(excerpts) Educators, school administrators, local elected board members, politicians, state officials and parents have all weighed in on the law mandating school consolidation in Maine.

Conspicuously absent has been the voice of those most affected by the law: the children in our schools.

...

"I think a lot of students don’t necessarily feel the need to learn about the issue because they feel like they don’t have a direct say," said Keefe, 17, a senior.

Beal, 16, a junior, added, "Most of us don’t really know how it’s going to affect us, but I don’t know that anyone does."

Interviewed recently during their lunch break, Beal and Keefe both said the effort to consolidate Maine’s school districts doesn’t seem like it’s going to accomplish its goal of saving money.

Even if it does, Keefe said, "I don’t think an effective way to address a school’s specific needs is by centralizing control. Needs are different for every school."

Beal also said it doesn’t make sense for a superintendent in Ellsworth to make decisions for students in a district 40 miles away.

School consolidation bills to have hearings

Kennebec Journal, February 26, 2008

(excerpt) The bills would, among other initiatives:

• Expand the definition of a regional school unit to include districts that do not provide education through grade 12.

• Detail the process for holding referendums for residents to approve school unit budgets.

• Delay the deadline for referendums for approving the proposed regional school units until Jan. 16, 2009.

As school districts across Maine begin to implement what Finch calls "an incredible change in the way education operates," the uncertainty about the process that remains could be reflected in testimony at today's public hearings.

"Everything's open to discussion," Harlow said.

Waterville awaits school plan fallout

Morning Sentinel, February 26, 2008

(excerpt) School Superintendent Eric Haley has formally notified the state of the School Board's decision to stop exploring a merger with School Administrative District 47 and School Union 52.

Haley told the Board of Education Monday night that he is awaiting a response from Education Commissioner Susan Gendron's office on a memo he sent to her, dated Feb. 19.

The memo says Waterville schools have been studying regionalization with Union 52, based in Winslow, and SAD 47, based in Oakland, for more than three years -- well before the state mandated that schools study consolidation.

Waterville has run countless financial scenarios, studied all teacher contracts, reviewed real property and school assets and spent hours developing potential governance of a regional school unit, Haley's memo says.

"At this point in time, the cost shifting to Waterville from such a reorganization makes it an unacceptable initiative," it says.

Haley said he spoke with officials from Gendron's office and was told a formal notification by Waterville needed to be received as soon as possible and that it was received; the school system will receive a standard response, asking that Waterville be more specific about the reasons for withdrawing and outlining other methods for cost-savings and efficiencies.

Haley has said Waterville could pay from $144,000 to more than $570,000 to merge with the other school systems.

Presque Isle: Gendron hears struggles of regionalization

Bangor Daily News, February 26, 2008

(excerpt) Gendron also fielded questions about state aid for education. At this point, the state is facing a massive budget shortfall and the Department of Education has been asked to find ways to reduce its own costs. Gendron was asked how that would affect state aid for education to local cities and towns.

The Legislature is struggling with a supplemental budget that was submitted by Gov. John Baldacci in January. While it proposes $95 million in spending cuts, legislators have since been told to anticipate an additional $99 million in cuts because of lower-than-expected state revenues. A final figure is expected to be determined this week.

The DOE has been asked to make about $47 million in cuts. Gendron said the DOE would be notifying individual school districts of their state education allotments in the coming weeks. She added that the DOE was awaiting recommendations from the Legislature’s Education Committee before sending school districts the figures.

She acknowledged, however, that tough times are ahead.

"There is very little new money to disburse for education," she said.

Panel predicts doubling of deficit

Portland Press Herald, February 26, 2008

(excerpt) With a budget shortfall already set at $95 million, a state panel on Monday affirmed another $95 million downward adjustment in revenue.

The Revenue Forecasting Committee, mirroring action it took in November, scaled back its revenue projections largely to reflect negative economic trends that are expected to further limit state tax collections.

The new adjustment effectively doubles the budget shortfall facing the Legislature and Gov. John Baldacci, who has put forth a package of proposals to cover the first $95 million shortfall.

Monday's action by the forecasting panel was widely anticipated. Still, a formal revision downward set the stage for new debate in earnest about how to put the two-year, $6.3 billion general fund budget back in balance.

Lawsuit claims SAD 40 ‘buried heads in the sand’

Courier-Gazette, February 24, 2008

(excerpt) “MSAD 40 essentially ‘buried its collective heads in the sand’ and pretended that such conduct was not occurring,” the lawsuit states.

This inaction by the district allowed the sexual abuse to continue, the suit reads.

Once the relationship became public, the boy left the alternative school, because it became known in the school of the relationship. High School Education Teacher Thomas Shriver, who became Bramhall’s supervisor beginning in September 2005, publicly named the boy, the lawsuit states.

Also, in late 2005 or early 2006, Shriver became romantically involved with Bramhall, and is now the current husband of Bramhall, according to the lawsuit. Shriver no longer works for SAD 40, Carnahan said.

The boy was treated in a hostile manner by the district, including Strong and Shriver, and made to feel as if he had done something wrong. In addition, the district or its staff offered no assistance to the boy.

The lawsuit claims cites violations of several federal laws meant to protect students. The suit also claims that the district was negligent in its hiring, retention and supervision. There also are claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, and battery.

Education funds to shrink

Portland Press Herald, February 25, 2008

(excerpt) With the state facing a shortfall of up to $200 million in the current two-year, $6.3 billion state budget, program cuts in the Maine Community College System are possible, affecting career plans of many of Maine's community college students.

The Legislature already is grappling with a supplemental budget that proposes $95 million in spending cuts, submitted by Gov. John Baldacci in January. Lawmakers also have been told to anticipate an additional $99 million in cuts, because of lower- than-expected revenue. The exact figure is expected to be determined this week.

The state's Department of Education has been asked to make about $47 million in cuts.

The bulk of those cuts -- $36.8 million -- would be achieved by changing the state education aid funding formula to delay the state's goal of paying 55 percent of public school costs. Higher education, spared in the governor's initial $95 million supplemental budget, now faces nearly $2 million in cuts at the seven community colleges and $6 million in cuts to the University of Maine System.

Whether all or any of the proposed cuts become reality is far from certain, as Gov. John Baldacci and the Legislature continue to discuss the state's finances. Baldacci has said so far he would veto a budget that raised taxes or tapped the state's savings account. He also is against delaying the state's taking on 55 percent share of kindergarten-through-12th-grade education costs.

"That's like pushing the burden to the local level. The way they've structured it, I'm not in favor of it," he said.

Still, educators and students at publicly funded schools around Maine are worried that they might be hit by millions of dollars in cuts, as the state looks for ways to make its revenue and spending numbers match.

SAD 11 decides against hiring outside maintenance firm

Kennebec Journal, February 24, 2008

(excerpt) Faced with the need to trim 5 percent from the district's maintenance and plant-operations budget, the subcommittee formed in hopes of finding some of those savings. Ellis sat on the task force with plant-operations director Jon Stonier, Superintendent Paul Knowles and Board members Eric Jermyn, Dick Rogers and Ginger Shaw.

"We are looking at everything to try to save where we can," said Rogers, the School Board chairman.

In the end, one company, Benchmark Cleaning Services of Portland, responded to the subcommittee's request for bids, estimating it could clean and maintain the SAD 11 schools for $639,000 per year in labor costs. SAD 11 originally budgeted more than $785,000 in custodians' personnel costs for the current school year.

SAD 54 teen survey results mixed

Morning Sentinel, February 23, 2008

(excerpt) Lisa Larrabee, a member of Somerset County Association of Resource Providers (SCARP) who is helping to organize the committee, said students surveyed in SAD 54 come from Skowhegan, Mercer, Smithfield, Norridgewock, Canaan and Cornville.

Pointing to several categories in the survey, Larrabee said only 23 percent of the students said their parents and other adults model positive, responsible behavior. And only 25 percent said their parents are actively involved in helping students succeed in school.

"That's one in four youth (surveyed) who feel their parents care," Larrabee said.

In other survey responses, only 13 percent said they spend three or more hours a week in creative activities such as music or art. However, 50 percent said they spend three or more hours per week in sports, clubs or organizations. Twenty-one percent spend one or more hours per week in religious activities.

Some 60 percent said they were motivated to do well in school and 70 percent said they stand up for their beliefs. Larrabee pointed out, however, that only 34 percent said they seek to resolve those conflicts nonviolently.

The great news, she said, is that 72 percent of the respondents said they are optimistic about their future.

Augusta Schools: 18 positions set to be eliminated

Kennebec Journal, February 21, 2008

(excerpt) A total of 18 positions, including teachers, custodians, special-education staff and central office workers, are slated to be cut in the currently proposed school budget.

The Augusta Board of Education heard a budget presentation Wednesday from Superintendent Cornelia Brown.

The proposed $28.3 million budget, down from the $28.5 million approved by the board last year, will still have to be approved by the board and the City Council.

Brown said the budget would eliminate 18 positions, including at least three special-education jobs, two custodian jobs, one central office job, the assistant principal's job at Hodgkins Middle School and teaching positions at nearly every school.

"There isn't a building other than Cony that hasn't been impacted by budget decisions," Brown said.

Augusta is still waiting to hear how much state funding its schools will get from the state.

Brown said earlier projections saw an additional $480,000 in state aid for Augusta schools. However, she said now the state could provide flat funding for education to Augusta -- or even cut state aid to the city's schools by more than $500,000.

"We're looking at flat-funding or, at worst, lower funding than last year," Brown said.

In Baldacci’s Crosshairs [Editorial]

Ellsworth American, February 21, 2008

(excerpt) Governor John Baldacci and Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron are going to be very busy while schools are closed for vacation this week.

As high school basketball tournaments are under way in Bangor and Augusta, both are putting on a fullcourt press in the halls of power to do everything they can to kill the Damon amendment, a provision passed by the Senate last week allowing school unions as a form of organization under the school redistricting law. That measure, submitted by State Senator Dennis Damon (D-Hancock County), was made at the urging of Mount Desert Island educators who feel districts across the state can benefit from having an option to create the type of organization Union 98 enjoys on the island.

In their opposition, Augusta’s two clueless riders of the coming educational apocalypse will be strong-arming lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who have the audacity to believe cost savings can be achieved without stealing control of local schools from the people who pay those bills and who know and understand them best.

Unable to come up with a valid, logical reason to be against school unions, state officials instead are attempting to bury amendment supporters under a flood of flawed statistics erroneously claiming that unions have higher costs. Gendron’s minions are making false correlations, woefully lacking in concrete figures, to back up the resultant warped conclusions.

Consolidation desire persists; School Union 52 wants talks to continue

Morning Sentinel, February 21, 2008

(excerpt) Messalonskee School Superintendent James Morse on Wednesday assured his school board that School Union 52 officials are still interested in continuing consolidation talks.

Morse's report came less than a week after Morse's counterpart at Waterville Public Schools said he felt that merging into one regional school unit would not be economically beneficial to Waterville. One of Winslow's representatives, Phil St. Onge, at that time voiced his own doubts about the merger's benefits to his own school district, but talks will continue, Morse said.

"School Union 52 called me today to reaffirm their willingness to continue working with us" in discussing consolidation options, Morse told the Messalonskee School Board.

School Union 52 serves the communities of Winslow, China and Vassalboro. Messalonskee School District serves the communities of Oakland, Rome, Sidney and Belgrade.

Earlier pre-school program at issue in Augusta

Kennebec Journal, February 18, 2008

(excerpt) Some even younger students could join Augusta schools' growing pre-school program for four-year-olds.

The city schools, in a partnership with Child Development Services, are considering starting a pilot program to bring three-year-olds into Hussey Elementary School's pre-school program next school year.

The plan would still need the approval of the Augusta Board of Education, but Superintendent Cornelia Brown is recommending the idea move forward.

Augusta started a preschool program for four-year-olds a few years ago in one elementary school and the popular program has since expanded to several city elementary schools. Brown said, in general, students who have been through the preschool program have done better in school than those who have not, by some measures.

"I've long been a supporter of pre-school education," Brown said. "We're a state-recognized model on how to do preschool correctly. We like working with children as early as possible."

Stephen Bowen: The real worth of school budget validation process

Bangor Daily News, February 16, 2008

(excerpt) Had state average school budget growth over that same period been held to the 2.59 percent average achieved by the three SADs using the budget validation process, Maine taxpayers would have saved almost $40 million.

In Augusta, though, the budget validation process has been criticized as being unworkable and unnecessary. Proposals have been put forward to either postpone the requirement that districts use the process or remove the budget referendum mandate altogether.

The evidence shows, however, that where the process has been used, it is not only overwhelmingly popular with voters, it leads to substantial savings — savings well above whatever additional costs the process itself may impose.

Clearly the additional budget oversight accorded voters by the budget validation process must remain a central component of the school district reorganization effort if Maine is ever to see any meaningful school budget savings in the years ahead.

Wiscasset Teachers Vent Frustrations

Lincoln County News, February 13, 2008

(excerpt) Wiscasset gifted and talented teacher Deb Olson challenged the school board Tuesday to end its lengthy contract dispute with the Wiscasset Teachers Association and accept the fact-finding panel decision.

Olson said each side had a representative besides the third panel member, who was neutral.

"The three members agreed on many points," she said. "The committee's finding is a compromise."

In an impassioned plea, she urged the board to end the strife so that local teachers can go back to their main business of teaching children without all the distress the situation has created, especially lately with a threatened court injunction.

Her comments come at a time before the matter has to go to interest arbitration and another three-member panel has to be selected.

Bad news for schools

Wiscassett Newspaper, February 14, 2008

(excerpt) As if the year and a half long failed negotiations with the teachers' association wasn't enough to discourage School Committee members, they got the word Monday night that they'll also be in the hole financially by year's end.

Ron Smith from RHR Smith told the committee that the carry forward from the last fiscal year, over $400,000, won't be enough to pay the nearly $800,000 in teachers' salaries for July and August. Wiscasset, like most school districts spread their teachers' salaries out over 26 weeks.

"The financial soothsayers in Augusta didn't take that into consideration when they came up with the school consolidation bill," Smith said.

"Let's say you consolidate. The first thing they're going to ask you is what your liabilities are. I've seen even bigger numbers than this. That's the conversation everyone is having now, whether it involves bus leases or contracts. These are called off balance sheet risks.

Smith said one of the proposed new school districts he knows of will be starting off two and a half million dollars in the hole.

Baldacci Proposes Flat-funding in 2009 For Maine Schools

Ellsworth American, February 14, 2008

(excerpt) Gov. John Baldacci’s administration is proposing flat-funding local schools next year as a way to help balance the state budget as the revenue forecast gets gloomier — a move some will see as a broken promise.

This coming school year was supposed to be the last step in the state’s reaching its goal of funding 55 percent of K-12 education as mandated in a statewide referendum four years ago.

That 55 percent covers programs the state deems essential for an adequate education and is based on money spent statewide.

The amount the state shoulders on a community-by-community basis varies widely, based on multiple factors — the most important being property values and the number of school-aged children in town.

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said the Governor had tried to protect education funding when the budget deficit hit $95 million in December, but had to give in with news this past week that the state could be short another $99 million on top of that.

“He made an absolute effort to protect general purpose aid,” in the first round of cuts, Gendron said, but now, “There’s no place else to go.”

Baldacci, in fact, already had cut $36 million out of promised education aid to balance his two-year budget last year and give a financial impetus to his school consolidation proposal, which was included as part of the budget package.

That cut pared down a promised $79 million in aid this coming school year to $43 million, and now another $37 million is being taken from that.

State Senate approves MDI schools plan

Bar Harbor Times, February 13, 2008

(excerpt) The State Senate on Tuesday narrowly approved a measure that would allow School Union 98 to retain its current governance structure. The vote was 18-17.

The measure, which now goes to the House of Representatives, also would establish the Union 98 model as an option for school unions around the state that don't want to radically alter the way they are structured to comply with the state's school consolidation law. That law, as now written, takes control of K-8 schools out of the hands of locally elected school boards.

Sen. Dennis Damon of Lamoine, whose district includes Mount Desert Island, introduced the Union 98 option as an amendment to a bill that would make several other changes in the consolidation law. Gov. John Baldacci and Education Commissioner Susan Gendron support the main bill, but they oppose the Union 98 amendment.

District merger might collapse

Morning Sentinel, February 15, 2008

(excerpt) In a dramatic shakeup, Waterville Public Schools Thursday evening took early steps toward withdrawing from a planned regional school unit that would have stretched from Rome to China.

For several years, Waterville and Messalonskee School District heads have been working toward some form of regionalization of services. The two districts entered serious talks with the now-dissolved School Union 52 (Winslow, China and Vassalboro) when a new state law required districts to consolidate with one or more neighboring districts.

"We are saying that there is no financial scenario at this point for Waterville to continue (toward the planned consolidation)," said Waterville Public Schools Superintendent Eric Haley. "Every financial model that we've run costs Waterville money."

Haley estimates the consolidation as proposed would cost Waterville between $144,000 to $571,000 per year. He recommends that the school board ask the state to allow the school district to operate alone. Waterville and Messalonskee will continue to discuss streamlining the districts' business functions, such as accounts payable, Haley said.

"There's really no money to be saved in consolidating elementary schools unless you close one," he said. "And the law doesn't permit that."

Cape Elizabeth schools request up 13 percent

Portland Press Herald, February 15, 2008

(excerpt) Released from three straight years of town spending caps, school officials have proposed a $21.3 million budget for the next year, the system's largest request ever.

The 2008-09 proposal calls for $2.5 million more than this year's budget -- a 13.3 percent increase. More than $1 million can be attributed to the addition of more than 20 full- and part- time positions. Other major expenditures involve salary and benefit increases, energy bills and maintenance.

The proposal has raised questions among some residents, who note that enrollment has been declining in Cape Elizabeth schools. Enrollment is projected to drop from 1,781 students this school year to 1,726 next year.

But Superintendent Alan Hawkins said during a budget workshop held by the School Board on Thursday night that programming cuts over the last 10 years have taken their toll on the school system.

"There are a few people who are saying the crazy superintendent wants all the money in the world," Hawkins said. "That is not the point. We are looking at what we feel is necessary to maintain the school system as it is."

Report: Schools spend too much

Kennebec Journal (update), February 14, 2008

(excerpt) A report released today shows 82 percent of school systems across the state have exceeded their state spending cap, according to the State Planning Office.

Each year, the state releases a report on the status of Legislative Document 1, a law passed three years ago that requires the state to fund 55 percent of the cost of education. The added state money to local schools is supposed to reduce property taxes.

But collectively, schools have spent $132 million more than their targeted levels, according to the planning office.

Martha Freeman, director of state planning, said this is further evidence of the need to consolidate school administrative costs.

“Increasing the state’s share of funding for local education provided the means to relieve property tax burdens,” she said in a statement. “This year’s LD 1 report shows again that the relief available is not making it to the taxpayer.”

School's birth control policy sparks concern

Kennebec Journal, February 13, 2008

(excerpt) Through the years, each of Raejean Webber's four children used King Middle School's Student Health Center. It was a convenient way for them to get diagnosed quickly when she suspected that any of them had strep throat or another illness. She doesn't think that anymore.

In October, the Portland School Committee sparked a national controversy when it agreed to let the city's Public Health Division provide prescription birth control to sexually active students who enroll at the health center.

In December, the center started using a new parental consent and enrollment form to more clearly explain the reproductive health services offered there, and children's privacy rights under Maine law.

Students need written permission from a parent or guardian to be treated at the health center, but state law allows them to receive confidential care for reproductive health, mental health and substance-abuse issues.

Now, 126 of King's 510 students are enrolled in the center, down from 193 students in November. Health officials said some were enrolled before, some are new users, and some parents declined to re-enroll their children.

Webber didn't re-enroll her last child to attend King, a daughter who's in seventh grade.

Webber said she worries about being excluded from her child's health-care decisions. She questions the safety of providing prescription birth control to minors, especially without informing their parents.

And she believes that providing birth control to some children may influence the behavior of others.

School boards nationwide brace for revenue declines

Associated Press, February 12, 2008

(excerpt) School budgets have seemed to defy gravity in recent years: going up steadily without coming down. But school board members from across the country said that is likely to change soon, and they are bracing for leaner times forced by the nation's economic downturn.

Board members in Washington last week for an annual conference said shortfalls in state budgets with pessimistic predictions about local revenues are forcing them to look for ways to trim next year's budgets, which they are working on now.

About half of the states are facing projected budget shortfalls, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based research group.

The downturn in the housing market has led to a drop in state revenue from sales taxes from construction materials, furniture and other goods, said Liz McNichol, senior fellow at the center. She said recent job losses around the country could lead to a reduction in income taxes collected by states.

At the same time, economists predict local revenues will drop over the next few years as real estate values decline, generating less in local property taxes for school budgets.

Brewer school board eyes projected budget woes
Bangor Daily News, February 12, 2008

(excerpt) The situation in Augusta is making school leaders nervous, and it "gets worse with each passing hour," Superintendent Daniel Lee informed the school board on Monday night.

Lee told the Brewer School Committee that Gov. John Baldacci's supplemental budget contains "an adjustment" that would cut funds the school department now receives for disadvantaged children by approximately one-third.

"For us, this means a reduction of $138,000 in next year's budget," he said. "That's pretty hard information."

The governor's planned cuts would reduce the state's Essential Programs and Services allocation for economically disadvantaged students statewide by about $9 million, which also would mean large cuts for the communities of Bangor, Portland, Lewiston and others, Lee said.

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Turner man to represent SAD 46 on school project

Bangor Daily News, February 13, 2008

(excerpt)Rodney Boyington of Turner was hired by SAD 46 directors last week as the district’s representative for the new prekindergarten-through-grade-eight school project.

Boyington, who has 40 years experience as an architect, was one of eight candidates interviewed for the position. He will be paid $64,000 by the Department of Education for essentially two years of work, according to SAD 46 Superintendent Kevin Jordan.

Boyington, whose formal position is owner’s representative, will look out for the district’s interest during the school construction process.

Directors also gave permission to the six-member Facilities, Transportation and Construction Committee to make "relatively minor change orders" when necessary for the new school project

Senate OKs school consolidation changes

Portland Press Herald, February 13, 2008

(excerpt) State senators voted on Tuesday to change Maine's controversial, year-old school consolidation law.

The amendment, which still needs approval from the House, would let school districts develop their own cost-sharing plans instead of conforming to a state-imposed formula. It also would delay until next year a requirement that voters approve their local school budgets by referendum.

Legislators are considering changes to the consolidation law in response to feedback from parents, educators and school officials who say the mandate is heavy-handed and inequitable.

Baldacci rejects bid to cut aid to schools

Portland Press Herald, February 13, 2008

(excerpt) Gov. John Baldacci has rejected an Education Department proposal to cut $36.8 million from next year's budget for state aid to schools.

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron submitted the proposal Monday to the Bureau of the Budget because Baldacci and the Legislature are scrambling to find new ways to trim spending. Officials fear that a $95 million revenue shortfall in the two-year state budget may grow by $99 million.

The administration gave the Department of Education a target of $37.2 million in cuts, prompting Gendron to propose essentially level-funding education aid for 2008-09.

The state is scheduled to provide about $978 million in aid this school year and more than $1 billion in the next year, to boost its share of school costs to 55 percent.

Reducing next year's planned funding by $36.8 million would have eliminated virtually all of the increase, leaving schools with about $980 million.

Sending toddlers to school

Kennebec Journal, February 12, 2008

(excerpt) A proposal to offer preschool to a few 3-year-olds, an initial draft of next year's school budget, and a report on alternative education all go to the Augusta Board of Education Wednesday night.

Augusta schools, in a partnership with Child Development Services, could start a pilot program for 3-year-olds at Hussey Elementary School.

Superintendent Cornelia Brown said some of the students would be placed through Child Development Services, which assists youths with developmental disabilities, while some would be "typically developing" students.

The program, which Brown said she believed could be the first in the state, would likely only take eight children. Parents would be charged tuition. The pre-school would likely be a half-day program.

SAD 9, partners crafting new unit

Kennebec Journal, February 12, 2008

(excerpt) Another step toward the goal of forming a new regional school district will come under scrutiny by School Administrative District 9 directors tonight when they meet at the Mt. Blue High School library.

Board members are being asked for permission to submit a merger plan for legal review before being submitted by a late March deadline to the Maine Department of Education.

That plan was approved Thursday night by the regional planning committee made up of representatives of SAD 9, neighboring SAD 58, and Highland and Coplin plantations.

The entities are hammering out a blueprint merging all four into one regional school unit.

The committee meetings have occasionally produced differing opinions over some specifics of the plan. One issue that had drawn sharp criticism was a 60-percent requirement for any motion by the future regional school board to pass.

That requirement was recently rejected, leaving only a simple majority needed for passage of any motion.

While mandated consolidation is seen by state authorities as a means of saving education dollars, the committee's plan actually projects costs to increase by more than $70,000.

State looks at new high school requirements

Morning Sentinel, February 12, 2008

(excerpt) The department is billing the requirement changes as an effort to prepare Maine students for 21st-century jobs and technology. And the changes emphasize testing students in a variety of ways, rather than offering students one, high-stakes exam to determine whether they graduate from high school.

Reconfiguring graduation requirements is an effort to make those requirements more uniform across Maine's school districts.

Other changes would include a requirement that high school teachers develop course outlines reviewed by college faculty and business personnel; and a requirement that school systems develop individual learning plans tailored to each student.

Augusta schools Superintendent Cornelia Brown said the proposed changes leave key details to be determined by Education Commissioner Susan Gendron and not by local districts.

"There's a lack of specificity here," she said.

SAD 74 residents plead to keep town schools

Morning Sentinel, February 12, 2008

(excerpt) In the face of tiny enrollments, residents of Embden, New Portland and Solon on Monday night made pleas to keep their elementary schools open.

More than 70 people attended the meeting of School Administrative District 74 directors, at Garret Schenck School.

The directors have put together 10 scenarios for school consolidation. Eight of those plans would involve a school closing in one of those three towns.

Central Elementary of New Portland has only 27 students. Embden Elementary has 60, and 52 students are enrolled in nearby Solon.

In addition to Garret Schenck, Anson schools include Carrabec High and the new Carrabec Community School.

The board did not vote following the public comment.

Echoing the sentiments of many, Solon Selectwoman Elaine Aloes said small schools are the heart of communities. It was bad enough, Aloes said, when Solon lost grades 6 through 8 a few years ago.

Boys-only class becomes testing ground

Portland Press Herald, February 10, 2008

(excerpt) The last period of the day at high school, especially a 75-minute one, can be tough for both teachers and students, whose eyes stray toward the clock or droop after a day spent indoors.

But in Greg Dumas' freshman English class at Thornton Academy, the atmosphere is far from soporific. The 19 students sit upright in their seats. Hands shoot up in response to his questions. They laugh at his jokes.

There is one other notable difference: It is the only English class at the co-ed school where every student is male.

Thornton Academy set up the same-sex classroom as a yearlong experiment to try to boost the achievement scores of boys, which are lagging behind girls at the privately run school that also serves as a public school for Saco, Dayton and Arundel.

Some research suggests that same-sex classrooms can break down gender stereotypes and improve learning. Although it's too early to tell whether the Thornton experiment is working, Dumas' classroom has become a laboratory of sorts for educators around the state.

Most school districts not close to consolidation filings

Morning Sentinel, February 11, 2008

(excerpt) While Falmouth, Cumberland and North Yarmouth won praise from state officials last week for filing the first complete plan under the state's school district consolidation law, it appears many school districts are on the slow track when it comes to filing their plans.

Only a handful of other communities are close to completing their plans. Many school districts have put their plans on hold as they wait to see what changes the Legislature makes to the law. Other school districts have refiled their plans to seek an exemption from consolidation. Meanwhile, school districts face a March 28 deadline for filing their completed plans.

Since early January, the Legislature has been revising the original school district consolidation law passed last year. The joint Educational and Cultural Affairs Committee approved some changes, largely based on recommendations from Education Commissioner Susan Gendron, on Jan. 17.

The proposal would lower minimum enrollment in the new school districts from 1,200 to 1,000 in some cases, allow communities to come up with their own cost-sharing agreements and remove other provisions of the original law that made some mergers financially unworkable. The proposal has since stalled as legislators wrangle over other possible changes to the bill.

Medicaid cuts stall SAD 53's student counseling program
Bangor Daily News, February 8, 2008

(excerpt) Under the state's school consolidation program, one of the goals handed to newly formed districts is not to just trim budgets, but to find additional revenue sources.

However, when SAD 53 created a day treatment program, which would be funded through a U.S. Department of Education grant and bring in new money by billing Medicaid patients for professional counseling, it was shot down before it could be tried.

"This is so frustrating," SAD 53 Superintendent Michael Gallagher said this week after the SAD 53 board tabled action on the grant because state Medicaid payments to schools were cut.

"We stand to lose, just in SAD 53, between $140,000 and $180,000," Gallagher said. Those figures do not include projected payments for the day treatment program.

"Creating this day treatment program was part of our school consolidation plan," Gallagher said. "It would have generated additional revenues that would have gone directly to lowering taxes."

The counseling project was promoted by the districts' principals and Anne Miller, SAD 53 curriculum director, and would have hired a full-time licensed school social worker to implement the day treatment program.

This article is not available online. It is excerpted here because of its local interest. We offer this excerpt in the belief that such use of this material falls within fair use guidelines. Back issues of newspapers are available at local libraries. Please support your local newspapers!

MCI-SAD 53 panel promotes school choice
Bangor Daily News, February 7, 2008

(excerpt) The advisory committee for SAD 53 and Maine Central Institute is recommending that once consolidation plans are complete between SADs 53 and 59, high school students in both districts can choose whether they wish to attend MCI or Madison Area High School.

"Although the likelihood of students attending a high school different from the one they currently attend is not high, the possibility for that to occur would be enabled by policy adoption," SAD 53-59 Superintendent Michael Gallagher said Wednesday.

The policy would be an inter-regional open enrollment plan, similar to one that already is in place in SAD 59 on the elementary level.

The policy would have to be approved by the MCI board of trustees and both school boards and would become effective once SADs 53 and 59 become a single regional school unit.

Gallagher said that one of the exciting elements of the open attendance plan is that telecommuting could become an important part of a student's curriculum.

"For example, if a student at one school wanted to take a class not offered there but offered at the other high school, audio-video conferencing - distance learning - could put them right in the class without leaving their home school," Gallagher said. "It is a great opportunity."

This article is not available online. It is excerpted here because of its local interest. We offer this excerpt in the belief that such use of this material falls within fair use guidelines. Back issues of newspapers are available at local libraries. Please support your local newspapers!

Groups team up to improve sports fields

Morning Sentinel, February 6, 2008

(excerpt) The group that raised more than a half million dollars for the Mount View Performing Arts Center has now set its sights on improving the athletic fields at the new school.

The new school complex is slated to open in the fall of 2009. The school will serve more than 1,000 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

The $40 million school complex is the largest state-funded school project in Maine history.

Future MSAD 3 is planning a capital campaign for enhancements and improvements to Mount View's existing and new athletic fields.

The organization and the School Administrative District 3 board of directors have created the Athletic Enhancement Advisory Committee. The group will not raise funds; it will seek public input on athletic facility enhancements; conduct research; develop a comprehensive master plan with the architects; and secure cost estimates.

Community members who are willing to work on this plan are invited to the first organizational meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, at the Mount View High School Library.

"We have an extraordinary opportunity to engage district residents and Mount View alumni in this project," said Vicki Kupferman, who will co-chair the new committee with Doug Van Horn.

School custodian resigns job after he's accused of sex crime

Morning Sentinel, February 5, 2008

(excerpt) A custodian at Madison Elementary School has resigned after being charged with sexually touching a 5-year-old girl at her home, officials said Monday. The child was not a student at the school.

Elton Chubbuck, 68, of Harmony, was charged with unlawful sexual contact, a Class B felony, on Jan. 28.

School Administrative District 59 Superintendent Michael Gallagher said Monday that he was notified that same day that Chubbuck had resigned. It was not clear Monday how long Chubbuck had worked at the school.

Gallagher said that as far as he knew, Chubbuck has not been accused of having inappropriate contact with children at the school.

Madison High graffiti prompts investigation

Morning Sentinel, February 5, 2008

(excerpt) Police and school officials are investigating who wrote some potentially upsetting words in pencil on a boys' bathroom wall at Madison Area Memorial High School.

Officials refused to say what the words were, but they were concerned enough about their possible impact that they temporarily closed the bathroom and moved students to the gymnasium.

Police Chief Barry Moores said he is following school protocol in his investigation. Accordingly, Moores said, he would say nothing about the content of the writing.

Principal Colin Campbell also declined to characterize the nature of the words except to say they were not offensive.

"We don't want anybody to know right now," Moores said.

SAD 9 directors wrestle with budget issues

Morning Sentinel, January 31, 2008

(excerpt) Like other school systems in Maine, SAD 9 receives state dollars under the Essential Programs and Services formula, which through a labyrinth of criteria determines how much a district needs to run its program.

Tuesday night, SAD 9 directors continued a discussion over what the 2008-09 budget would look like if the district aligned itself with the formula. The district would have to cut 13 positions to meet those guidelines for state subsidy.

Those jobs, mostly teachers, could be retained under local tax dollars, although Superintendent Michael Cormier said some money could be shifted from other sources.

"It would be hundreds of thousands of dollars," Cormier said.

Volunteers sought to name new school

Sun Journal, January 31, 2008

(excerpt) With construction of the new school under way to replace Pettingill Elementary, volunteers are sought for a committee that will recommend what to name the school, Ward 5 School Committee Norman Prevost said.

School officials are looking for five people to serve on the committee, Prevost said.

Pettingill Principal David Bartlett is also looking for new school name suggestions. "We're encouraging suggestions from the public and the students," Prevost said. Bartlett said he has a suggestion box in the school soliciting name ideas from students and staff.

The name committee is expected to form in mid-February. The committee will recommend new school names to the Lewiston School Committee, which will have the final say.

SAD 54 considers name for new school: Mill Stream?

Kennebec Journal, February 4, 2008

(excerpt) How do you best name a new school that will represent those communities, which have few things in common? Norridgewock lies along both the Kennebec and Sandy Rivers. Mercer straddles the Sandy. And Smithfield is a lakeside town.

Last Monday night, the SAD 54 Building Committee tried to settle the issue. The school under construction, which will welcome students next fall, should be named for the stream that runs by it, the committee decided.

That would be Mill Stream. So the school would be named Mill Stream Elementary School, Superintendent Brent Colbry said. The full SAD 54 Board of Directors will vote on the committee's recommendation when its meets at 7 p.m. Thursday.

SAD 48 weighs calendar change to save energy

Bangor Daily News, February 2, 2008

(excerpt) Although many in the district think the current school calendar is a done deal, that is not true, SAD 48 Superintendent William Braun said Friday.

The changes, if approved, could have students beginning the school year five days earlier, some weeklong vacations could be shifted to long weekends, and the Christmas break could extend nearly a month into mid-January. Classes would end as usual in mid-June.

Braun said the savings in fuel oil alone could be between $50,000 and $75,000.

"At this point the idea is just food for thought," he said. "It hasn’t even been heard by a committee yet," he said.