Currents in Education
Selectmen: Baldacci school plan is lose-lose for taxpayers and students
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - The Board of Selectmen has weighed in on Gov. John Baldacci's proposed school consolidation plan and, based on the details released to date, believes it is all wrong for the town.This Thursday, Jan. 25, you have the chance to have your questions answered about the proposal and your opinions heard at a regional forum organized by Baldacci and Department of Education Commissioner Gendron to explain the plan and provide time for questions and answers.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at Noble High School in North Berwick. York, the Berwicks and the towns of Acton, Alfred, Eliot, Kittery, Lebanon, Limerick, Lyman, Newfield, Sanford, Shapleigh and Waterboro are proposed to be joined in one district of 17,800 students with one regional school board and superintendent located in Sanford.
At the School Committee's meeting on Jan. 17 and the Board of Selectmen's meeting on Jan. 22, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Henry Scipione presented the state's plan for school district consolidation with an eye toward the local impact.
Under the plan, Scipione explained, ownership of York's school facilities would be transferred to the regional school board - on which York would have one representative, at the most.
In addition, he confirmed, all locally-funded school construction from the past, such as the extensive York Middle School and York High School renovation projects, would continue to be paid for locally, while state-funded projects, like the tens of millions in funding for the Noble High School and Marshwood High School projects completed in recent years, would be paid for by the new districts. Essentially, that means York taxpayers would be paying for their own existing school building costs as well as helping foot the bill for state-funded projects in the 17-town region.
The hope, as expressed by Scipione, the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen, is that the Maine Legislature will take action to revise this plan, as it cannot go into effect without the Legislature's approval.
As Scipione told both local boards within the past week, he has long been a supporter of consolidation to streamline Maine's educational system operations, but not in this form. Under Baldacci's plan, for example, some of the consolidated regions would have fewer students than York has now, while York would be grouped into the second-largest district in the state.
The selectmen condemned the current plan at their meeting on Monday.
Selectmen Vice Chairman Dwight Bardwell called regionalization of this kind short-sighted at best, and agreed with Scipione's position that local students will ultimately be the ones who pay.
The board asked about refusing to be a part of the state plan, as York is currently a minimum receiver of state aid for all programs and services except special education.
"There's not an opt-out option in the legislation," Scipione told the board, but confirmed the question has come up about privatizing education in some communities, which would be an option, but would have its own issues.
Selectman Torbert Macdonald, Jr., likened the proposal to the county tax system, in which York contributes a major share of the funding for a minimal return in services.
"It's all going to be funded by the property tax. Now, the county is funded by the property tax but it's allocated by who's got the most property value. … It's obvious that the rich coastal communities will be subsidizing the communities up-country," Macdonald said, calling the plan a "socialist system." He added that communities providing the most funding will be doing so without adequate representation.
Selectman Chairman David Marshall agreed.
"I think we should be very, very concerned about this legislation because this town has not been able to do one thing to stop the perceived inequity in funding the county," he said, adding later, "My fear here is this benefits far more of the state than it hurts, and the potential for it having some success is a lot higher."
Scipione confirmed that, under the plan, the state funding formula for education will not change, and York will remain at the bottom of the list in terms of state aid.
"I've always taken a position that Maine does need to consolidate - that it's not an efficient system. … The question is, where does that fall in the scheme of the entire state, and how does that fit for York?" Scipione said.
Educationally, Scipione pointed out, York continually scores among the top schools in the state, while Maine scores above average nationally.
"The effect of the Maine system, overall, is expensive, but it has resulted in students that do well," he said, but added there is an inequity in Maine in terms of quality of education, and something must be done to balance that.
Bardwell, who served on the School Committee for many years, said he does not believe the governor's plan has anything to do with the quality of education in the state.
"I think this is completely about the money. I don't think for a second it is about student performance," he said, adding the town should be "loud and angry … about this coming down the pike."
The selectmen and the School Committee members have all indicated they believe the plan will cost the town in the long run, not just in terms of tax dollars doled out to a regional school board but in terms of student academic performance.
Bardwell, for one, said it would be worth the possibility of losing state and federal funding, which amounts to a total of about $1.4 million for special education costs and about $600,000 for all other annual district costs, to keep local control. If the coastal communities decide to privatize, he pointed out, the state will have to work with them.
"I think to give up local control is nuts," he said. "I don't have any faith at all that the state can make this happen in any kind of an efficient way."
What the governor's Local Schools, Regional Support plan would mean for York, in a nutshell, is to grow from a district of about 2,000 students to one of nearly 18,000 students. The York School Committee and the central office would be eliminated, putting the control of budgeting, curriculum development and even the school buildings in the hands of a regional board with no more than 15 members. And, as Scipione pointed out, in a district with 17 towns, that means two of those communities will not be represented at all.
And, if that regional board were to decide to close a local school, the town would have to vote to pay to keep its own school open while still contributing to the regional schools.
Selectman Mike Estes, also a former School Committee member, described the proposal as "definitely a loser for the students of York."
Selectman Len Dorrian, who was one of the first members of the town's Property Tax Task Force, pointed out that the York School Department has been cognizant of the needs of local taxpayers.
"The school system in our town has been extremely responsive and careful about how our money is spent," he said in opposition to the regional plan.
In reviewing the plan with the School Committee a few days earlier, Scipione pointed out that in some parts of the state, with schools numbering 50 or 60 students, for example, the premise could make sense. The problem, he said, is that it is a one-size-fits-all approach that does not take into account the needs of different districts and communities.
And, the timeline, should the Legislature endorse the plan, is a very short one, with the election of regional school boards slated for this coming October. Those boards will then select the regional superintendent. Full implementation of the system is targeted for the following July.
The plan also calls for "like-minded" communities being banded together - a term the School Committee members took exception to, as the proposed Sanford region of 17 towns includes vastly different communities.
"I don't call them like-minded in any way, shape or form," said School Committee Vice Chairwoman Marilyn Zotos.
Chairwoman Patty Hymanson and others, including several selectmen, advocated for working with the surrounding communities of southern York County to find a better option.
"I think York, Kittery, Eliot and South Berwick have a lot more in common," she said, adding, "I'm just thinking of conglomerations that might be more supported than this large group."
As Marshall said during the selectmen's meeting, the governor's stated goal may be to reduce costs with the plan, but the focus is not on reducing property taxes in York.
"We would turn out to be a donor community within this region. … We'd be contributing more than we'd be getting back for our schools," said School Committee member John D'Aquila, adding he hopes the plan will be changed "when people start realizing that we can continue to contribute $21 million (the current sum of York's school budget) to the region" with large portions of that sum going to other communities.
