New law is victory for MDI schools
Bar Harbor Times, April 23, 2008
(excerpt) “This language in the law was crafted by our (RPC) lawyer,” Ms. Marshall said.
Having rejected the local RPC’s original plan and vehemently opposed the idea of school unions in any form, the commissioner was cooperative and even conciliatory in negotiating with the MDI school delegation. That may have been the result of a meeting in the governor’s office a few weeks ago that Mr. Hubbell attended. After hearing an explanation of how Union 98 functions, Mr. Hubbell said, the governor told Commissioner Gendron to “find a way to make this work for Mount Desert Island.”
Two weeks later, in a meeting with the RPC members, the commissioner referred to the Union 98 model as “the gold standard,” Ms. Marshall said.
“At that point, we began looking at how we could craft the law in a way that would allow us to continue to function as we do and allow other communities to retain a more decentralized governing structure.”
She said Commissioner Gendron not only allowed Mr. Spencer, the RPC’s lawyer, to write part of the bill, but she agreed that the Department of Education would pay for his work.
“He would write the language, it would go to the department and get altered a little bit and then come back to him,” Ms. Marshall said. “Anytime he or we presented a challenge to the way they were crafting it, it got changed. So it was clear that, if it wasn’t going to work for us, it wasn’t going to work.”
Once a deal was struck, Ms. Marshall said, she asked Commissioner Gendron if she could envision any circumstances under which she would not grant MDI permission to form an alternative school organization.
“She threw her hands up in the air and said, ‘Oh, no! You will be given a waiver,’” Ms. Marshall said. “I think we have every reason to anticipate we will have a collaborative relationship going forward.”
(excerpt) “This language in the law was crafted by our (RPC) lawyer,” Ms. Marshall said.
Having rejected the local RPC’s original plan and vehemently opposed the idea of school unions in any form, the commissioner was cooperative and even conciliatory in negotiating with the MDI school delegation. That may have been the result of a meeting in the governor’s office a few weeks ago that Mr. Hubbell attended. After hearing an explanation of how Union 98 functions, Mr. Hubbell said, the governor told Commissioner Gendron to “find a way to make this work for Mount Desert Island.”
Two weeks later, in a meeting with the RPC members, the commissioner referred to the Union 98 model as “the gold standard,” Ms. Marshall said.
“At that point, we began looking at how we could craft the law in a way that would allow us to continue to function as we do and allow other communities to retain a more decentralized governing structure.”
She said Commissioner Gendron not only allowed Mr. Spencer, the RPC’s lawyer, to write part of the bill, but she agreed that the Department of Education would pay for his work.
“He would write the language, it would go to the department and get altered a little bit and then come back to him,” Ms. Marshall said. “Anytime he or we presented a challenge to the way they were crafting it, it got changed. So it was clear that, if it wasn’t going to work for us, it wasn’t going to work.”
Once a deal was struck, Ms. Marshall said, she asked Commissioner Gendron if she could envision any circumstances under which she would not grant MDI permission to form an alternative school organization.
“She threw her hands up in the air and said, ‘Oh, no! You will be given a waiver,’” Ms. Marshall said. “I think we have every reason to anticipate we will have a collaborative relationship going forward.”
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