Editorial

Mount Desert Islander and Ellsworth American

April 12, 2007

Stop the runaway train

Governor John Baldacci is the chief engineer on a runaway train, and somebody needs to apply the brakes before the inevitable collision comes that will destroy Maine’s education system as we know it.

The governor’s “historic” school reorganization proposal has been a disastrous plan from the get-go. He started the train rolling by plucking an imaginary $36-million cost-savings figure out of the air and inserting it into his biennial budget. He then told the 123rd Legislature that it has no choice but to meet that figure by enacting his plan — or some variation of it — to shrink the number of Maine school districts to a handful of mega-districts, thus saving untold millions of dollars.

Well-intended or not, the way Gov. Baldacci and his Department of Education, headed by Commissioner Susan Gendron, propose to wrest control of education from local communities and vest it in the hands of the state is outrageous and unconscionable. Mainers do want both property relief and tax reform. Of that there is no doubt. But the path to either or both of those goals cannot be found in the creation of larger bureaucracies and the diminution of citizen and parental involvement in local schools.

Some years ago, with only a single opposing vote, the Legislature voted to restructure the state’s electric utility system, promising that it would deliver lower costs to consumers. Since then, the cost of electricity has doubled. Now Gov. Baldacci is demanding that the Legislature restructure an education system that, for all its faults, has mostly served us well for decades. And again, the demand is based on the promise of savings that many believe are entirely an illusion.

The governor has said the plan does not involve the closing or merger of existing schools. But that assertion rings hollow, given that the proposal would require that local budgets meet the requirements of the so-called Essential Programs and Services formula which, in some cases, bears little relationship to the actual amount of money required to meet educational needs.

Gov. Baldacci came up with his school-restructuring plan without enlisting the help of educators, public officials or citizens around the state. In fact, during his campaign for reelection last fall, the governor never revealed that such a proposal was in the works. Had he done so, the outcome of the November election might have been quite different.

Some weeks ago, we urged in this column that the Legislature give consideration to a plan, advanced by teacher and former legislator Stephen L. Bowen, that has the potential for substantial monetary savings through the creation of Education Service Districts, an approach that already is proving its worth in several other states. The plan would involve none of the upheaval that is part and parcel of the governor’s deeply flawed approach.

But right now, the Legislature, intimidated by the need to achieve a balanced budget, is running scared. The Appropriations Committee, which shouldn’t even be dealing with education matters, is scurrying around trying to assemble a proposal calling for no more than 80 school districts — each with at least 2,500 students unless an exception is made — and, presumably, a like number of superintendents. All of this is going to happen in a period of three or four months, with little or no public involvement. Meanwhile, superintendents, teachers and school boards remain on edge with little idea what the future holds in store for them or their school systems.

Change can be a good thing, but bigger is not always better. And so far, the school restructuring debate in Augusta is being driven far more by short-term financial considerations than by long-term educational implications. As a first step, the Appropriations Committee should return the budget to the governor with instructions that he cover any shortfall by making cuts to real, existing programs, not by booking imaginary savings that might or might not be attainable.

Separating the school restructuring issue from the budget deliberations would allow time to develop — with appropriate public input — a well-reasoned and sound proposal to streamline school administration in Maine while maintaining the quality educational programs that already are being provided in most of our schools.

The runaway train has to be stopped, and soon. Citizens must not remain silent and simply hope for the best. Concerned Maine voters should immediately contact their legislators and ask them what they intend to do when the school plan comes up for a vote, as it surely will. If you believe, as we do, that this state grab for power is a bad and dangerous idea, tell them so. You, not the state bureaucrats, are the people who are in the best position to make decisions about the most appropriate and cost-effective means of providing educational services to our children. Your voices need to be heard in Augusta.