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AUGUSTA — At a time when education reform proposals are being floated by new Republican leadership at the State House, University of Maine System officials say they have struck a positive note with Gov. Paul LePage and several legislative leaders.
The general direction of the LePage administration and the new Republican legislative leadership, the system chancellor and government relations head both say, has been pragmatic in the past months despite the promise of swift political change.
Before January, the GOP had not controlled both the executive and legislative branches of state government since 1964.
“With this new wave that swept over Maine, there was a fear that this might be pushing the legislature far to the right and I don’t believe it did,” John Lisnik, assistant to the chancellor for governmental relations, said Tuesday. “To be honest with you, I was a little worried at the time, but I couldn’t be happier.”
“I think what we’re seeing from the new legislature and governor is growing recognition about our educated workforce,” Chancellor Richard Pattenaude said Tuesday. “As we like to say, higher education is economic development.”
The governor, since the primary season, has vaguely outlined a plan for “early college,” inspired by brick-and-mortar programs in other states like North Carolina, where high schools have been physically erected on community college campuses in an effort to boost enrollment and performance of low-income and minority students.
Maine’s hypothetical start-up has been described as a fifth year of high school where college credits — and even associate degrees — could be earned locally, outside of the traditional college environment.
This focus on two-year degrees and vocational opportunities was echoed by newly confirmed Commissioner of Education Stephen Bowen in an interview Friday.
“You want to try to level the playing field,” Bowen said. “If there’s a kid in high school in Maine that wants to take an early college course to get going on their college career, we need to find a way to get them that course.”
Bowen cautioned that specifics of the program are still in the works.
“I don’t think we’re going to do anything in a hurry. We don’t have any major proposals coming down the line,” he said. “At this point, what we’re doing is just talking in broad terms about it and getting a sense of what is out there.”
This focus on technical education has been striking when compared to previous governors, according to Amy Fried, an associate professor of political science at the University of Maine.
“This has been part of the LePage educational agenda,” Fried said Tuesday. “I think that is different than what we have seen in past years, while back as far as [former] Gov. [Angus] King and [former Gov. John] Baldacci, they supported technical education, but they also really wanted to increase the number of people going to college.”
“[LePage is] more outspoken about that than we’ve seen in the past,” Pattenaude added. “It’s interesting to observe him bringing that into the conversation in a clearer way.”
According to Lisnik, talks between the system and the governor regarding early college plans have been broad in scope and no immediate proposals are on the table regarding the university system.
Lisnik also said LePage has voiced encouragement regarding a recently announced pilot program at the University of Maine at Fort Kent that will offer early college courses to students in MSAD 27, the surrounding school district. Fort Kent High School was chosen as a key player in the program due to its proximity to the university.
According to a release from the office of UMFK President Wilson Hess, the program will begin in the fall 2011 semester and bring together three high schools in that area within the program’s first two years. When fully operational in year three, approximately 150 students from the St. John Valley will have access to the program.
“Existing early-college high schools improve high school graduation rates and better prepare students for high-skilled degrees and careers by engaging students in a rigorous, college preparatory curriculum,” Hess wrote.
Bowen also said his department, the university system and community college system are collaborating with the governor’s office on a joint grant application through the Complete College America program.
If successful, an award of $1 million dispersed over three years will go toward “college preparation, reducing remediation and retention” for high school students, Pattenaude said. A letter of intent, was drafted and sent from the governor’s office. The grant application is due April 30.
The program, run through the National Governors’ Association, invites the governors of all 50 states to apply. Pattenaude said he and William Fitzsimmons, the president of the Maine Community College System, were met with swift reactions on the plan from LePage’s office and Bowen.
“President Fitzsimmons and I … set up a meeting with Commissioner Bowen and he already knew about it and had interest in applying,” Pattenaude said.
In an April 2010 interview with The Maine Campus during primary campaigning, LePage said the university and community college systems should merge to reduce administrative overhead, citing the proximity between state-run campuses in places like the Greater Bangor area, where Eastern Maine Community College, UMA Bangor and UMaine lie.
“What they should be doing is consolidating the community college and the university system into one instead of having two systems,” LePage said.
While Bowen said the governor has not communicated such plans to him, Lisnik said LePage has not informed the system that he is interested in closing campuses and took a great interest in the University of Maine’s presidential search.
Pattenaude and Lisnik said they have seen a tempered attitude from LePage — not unlike the previous governor, Democrat Baldacci.
“I think he is a lot like the previous administration. His focus on education is important. He talks a bit more about the trades than people have in the past, but they’ve been there all along, so it’s not a gigantic change,” Pattenaude said.
“At this point, I don’t sense that he is looking at us with any big changes in mind at all,” Lisnik said. “None of our meetings have been contentious.”
Lisnik said the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs, which he interfaces with “almost daily,” is “one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.”
He praised individual Republican legislators, including committee chairmen Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, and Rep. Patrick Flood, R-Winthrop, for their stances on funding education.
“They are experienced legislators,” Lisnik said. “They’re not ideologues. They are people that I believe are moderate and are looking for solutions. They’re not being driven by politics.”
Dan Demeritt, LePage’s communications director, did not respond to e-mail inquiries by press time.
Editor’s Note: This is a two-part series about the relationship between the University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System and the new Republican leadership in Augusta. Part 1 will focus on the general direction of the relationship and Part 2, running Thursday, will delve into Gov. Paul LePage’s specific ideas for “early college” programs and how those could interface with similar, already established programs.
