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.