Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
University of Maine education professor Gordon Donaldson’s research on education costs has sparked a statewide debate over the most fiscally responsible way to keep those costs low while maintaining locally run, quality education for Maine’s children. Donaldson said he has been researching the history of Maine schools for nearly five years now.
“I was already sitting on top of information about how school districts have formed and how consolidation has happened in the past,” he explained. “So when [Governor Baldacci's] plan ‘hit the sidewalks,’ so to speak, I already had enough information to respond to it.”
The difference between Donaldson’s idea and Baldacci’s proposal is how “consolidation” is defined. Baldacci originally announced an initiative in January called Local Schools Regional Support that would cut back the number of school districts from the current 296 to 26, which he estimated would save the state over $240 million in three years.
Donaldson does not believe closing small schools and cutting back the number of districts is necessary.
“When you centralize things like that, you really don’t save money in the long run, because you have to build a bureaucracy,” he argued. He suggested not consolidating schools, but instead consolidating administration. He said the current system is “inefficient” and “it will be easier to consolidate schools after you consolidate administration,” if that next step is indeed necessary.
Baldacci does not expect this to be the final legislation. However, as the Bangor Daily News reported Monday, lawmakers seek to make adjustments in the plan. The BDN reported that at the heart of the issue “there is strong and bipartisan support to reduce the costs of school administration,” which is now appearing to be the general focus of the plan, but that has not always been the case.
There are currently six other proposals on the table, all of which offer unique perspectives on the issue. The legislature may be able to draw from these to create an entirely new plan, satisfying many different requests.
Some plans are more aggressive, while others take a low-key approach. The governor’s still falls into the former category, Donaldson believes. He said disenfranchising local school boards is not necessary, but instead, Maine should “look for ways to join together to pay for similar services.”
Examples Donaldson suggested include combining a financial management service, purchasing paper and other supplies in bulk all at once, running one transportation fleet instead of multiple ones and providing technology support on a regional basis instead of individual schools hiring professionals. He also suggested that special needs and gifted student programs would benefit from a financial consolidation because it would provide extra funding.
Donaldson said he never imagined that his research would create upheaval on such a large scale, but now that it has and plans are being set in motion, he is passionate about the outcome.
“Research on what makes a school good says that teachers and parents have to have a fair amount of autonomy and support, and [they have to] be creative,” Donaldson said. “Those kinds of things are difficult to ensure when you have a massive centralized bureaucracy.”
Donaldson also said that the past is the key to the present.
“The state went through a major consolidation of schools back in the ’60s, and we should look at that and try to draw lessons from it,” he said.
“My research on that consolidation indicates that we spent a whole lot more money on education after it happened than we were spending before.” This shows that if the number of schools is consolidated, there will not necessarily be a reduction in costs.
He was pleased that the governor is exploring other options and recognizing the need for changes in his current plan. The problem boils down to the tension between the average citizen and pure politics.
“I think the general response is in opposition to [the governor's plan], if you’re talking about the average Mainer. They want to save money, but they also believe in local control,” he said.
Others see things differently. “In the business community, the view might be different. Business people and people in Augusta say, ‘we have to save money somehow,’ and this is one way to do it,” he said.
Whatever the outcome, Maine has a long road ahead and many compromises to make to please everyone.
“We need to achieve our goal of staying focused on academic excellence, reducing administration and creating efficiency,” said Education Commissioner Susan Gendron.
The Education Committee and the Legislature are off this week, but expect to make a recommendation to the Appropriations Committee within the next month.
6 ways to savings
Most agree that Maine’s public school system is expensive, but there are plenty of ideas for streamlining it. Several lawmakers have put forth plans.
? Sen. Peter Mills, R-Cornville proposed that Maine schools consolidate business functions into regional cooperatives, which will be governed by regional boards and have local unit representation. The State Board of Education and Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, suggested the creation of a panel to draw up a plan that will redraw school district boundaries.
? Sen. Karl Turner, R-Cumberland wanted to create a bill to establish a panel to come up with a plan to eliminate current education administrative units and governing boards and redraw those units’ boundaries, similar to the Base Realignment and Closure commission.
? Rep. Kim Silsby, D-Augusta has a plan to give local school administrative districts a chance to create regional alliances and cooperatives. A state commission would oversee these districts.
? Sen. Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Kennebec County, offered “The Maine Children’s Alliance Proposal,” which would create 26 regional planning alliances that could propose reorganization of regional school districts.
� Senate President Beth Edmonds, D-Cumberland County supported “The Maine Service Center’s Proposal,” which would also create 26 planning alliances that would allow local representatives to design a system that works best for their area.
