[Formatted for online viewing. Reprinted with permission of the author.]

The Downeast Coastal Press,

January 15-21, 2008

Machias-Area School Planners on Hold for Now

By Will Tuell

Members of the Machias-area Regional Planning Committee (RPC) voted January 8 to indefinitely postpone further discussions on their proposed regional school unit (RSU) until state legislators and education officials have settled on a package of amendments to the June legislation. Some legislators have speculated that a deal addressing some of the more onerous demands of the controversial new law may come soon, but the amendments would have to pass both houses of the Legislature and be able to withstand a potential veto by Gov. John Baldacci.

RPC chairman John Sprague of Marshfield thinks that the committee couldn¹t make any concrete plans until the Legislature had reached consensus.

"After tonight, I personally feel we probably shouldn’t meet until the state decides what they¹re going to do," he said, adding that he had been on the brink of resigning the chairmanship.

"I¹ve beat my head against the wall long enough trying to create this animal, and I don¹t even know what the animal¹s supposed to look like. I’ll be honest, I go through some of these things, and it’s a nightmare. I don’t know what to do from here. It’s very frustrating. I¹ve been in situations in my life where I¹ve been in charge of things, but, the thing is this, I knew where I was going, and what I had to do. Here, I don¹t know."

The state-supplied facilitator Ray Freve, who is assisting several RPCs with their planning process, said that “something has to happen” with the minimum number of students an RSU can have if the state expects more rural areas to reorganize. Freve said that he, and several other facilitators, would be testifying before the education committee later in the week, and would be expressing several concerns with the law, as it stands now.

"One of the problems I¹m having is that in many of these areas it¹s extremely difficult for me to assist these people S in showing you where the savings are. I’m having a tough time seeing them myself. Certainly, I actually don¹t see them next year, or the three years that the model shows us."

Freve went on to say that he¹s for consolidation, but "there could have been a lot better delivery system than what we¹ve been handed. But that¹s what we¹ve been handed. That’s the statute. Many, many people, many of the communities that I¹m servicing, most of them are feeling that they don¹t see a savings in the first three years. As a matter of fact, there’s a significant amount of expenditure in the transition period."

Union 102 Superintendent Scott Porter, who has been monitoring the situation for his member schools, reported that the major issue in Augusta right now seems to be developing an “alternate system of governance.”

Senate Yet to Support Gendron’s Bill

"The Senate is not supporting the commissioner¹s bill, LD 1932, to fix the financial problems they [RSUs] have," said Porter.

“There’s a reason why they¹re not supporting that. They want to see an alternative method of governance. That is the hugest thing that is being discussed right now.”

Porter said that the rural caucus shares this view and is trying to craft something similar to a school union. “They may not call it a school union, but they¹re trying to put in a governance system that is very much like a school union, where all the school committees stay in place. They will have power over budgets, curriculum, things that you would normally have control over now."

Porter added that the House had, as of January 8, tabled the DOE bill that seeks to install some financial parity in the process, until a governance piece could be crafted.

"You¹re going to find there’s a lot of movement behind the scenes. Governance is one of the biggest issues holding that up. I spoke to [Speaker of the House] Glenn Cummings. He certainly believes that there will be many more conversations about consolidation. Because it was attached to the state budget, there weren’t enough conversations about consolidation in general. He seemed to believe that there was a need for some sort of alternative governance system that you could centralize even within a school union, or something that looks like a school union, and centralize more than just a superintendent."

Porter said that he, East Machias selectman Kenneth “Bucket” Davis, and East Machias school committee chairman Mike Look were in Augusta fairly regularly, and that they would continue to keep track of the Legislature as it works to develop a solution to what is quickly becoming a major impasse with the school law.

“The people in the Legislature are getting a lot of pressure from back home, a lot of pressure,” said Porter. “People from Washington County need to get to [Reps.] Ian Emery (R-Cutler) and Anne Perry (D-Calais). Even though she’s not from our area you need to get in touch with her and let her know that you¹re unhappy with the vote that she took last time around."

Both Perry and Emery voted for the new school consolidation law.

Because Gendron¹s bill doesn¹t have the votes to make it through the Senate, Porter said that several legislators feel "that this will probably stop RPC work statewide. There are a lot of people just waiting. At this point, it doesn¹t do a lot of good to move forward because we don¹t know what is going to happen."

Freve Urges More Lobbying

Freve urged people to call relatives and friends in other parts of the state and have them lobby their own legislators.

"Get those people, they¹re out there on a cloud,” he said. “We¹ve got to get them in the streamline. Every name you’re hearing that’s having a difficult time with this is from areas that are having trouble. We need to get the rest of the Legislature. If you know somebody, you want to talk to somebody, talk to one of those legislators. Ours are pretty well in line. Try to get somebody different from another area on board."

Bucket Davis suggested that area selectmen and members of the RPC should prepare remarks and be ready to testify in Augusta on a moment¹s notice, adding that he agreed with those saying the Machias-area committee shouldn¹t meet until legislation is finalized and approved.

"They¹re [Education Committee] going to want to hear from us," said Davis, "I’d like to see more selectmen on board. You’ve got to get your town officials involved. We’re weak in that area."

Porter said that once a bill is crafted, there will be a public hearing where “everybody can speak.”

“When we get to that point, we need to have a lot of people go and speak."

The committee authorized Sprague to call the next meeting when he feels it is necessary.