State: New high school requirements should be suspended

Kennebec Journal, March 5, 2008

(excerpt) The Department of Education urged members of a legislative committee Tuesday to table until the Legislature's 2008-09 session a bill that would revise the state's high school graduation requirements.

Commissioner Susan Gendron told Education Committee members at a hearing Tuesday it would be unreasonable this school year to introduce a new set of high-school graduation requirements.

School systems across the state are grappling with lower-than-anticipated state funding as they budget for the 2008-09 school year. They are also in the midst of working out plans to consolidate to cut administrative costs and reduce the number of districts in the state.

"The timing is not right," Gendron told panelists.