York Town News
Selectmen, School Committee supporting a unified front in opposition to governor's regionalization plan
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK and OGUNQUIT - Weeks have passed since Gov. John Baldacci first unveiled his Local Schools, Regional Support plan to Maine communities and school districts, but the passage of time is not making the plan any more palatable to local leaders.In the past two weeks, the York School Committee and Board of Selectmen again came out in strong opposition to the proposal, which calls for a downsizing of Maine's school districts to 26 regional centers. The towns of York and Ogunquit would join 18 other York County communities in the 17,800-student Sanford Region, with a regional school board and superintendent to determine how positions are filled and how funds are spent in the mega-district.
York Board of Selectmen Chairman David Marshall was one of the local residents who attended recent hearings in Augusta on the LSRS plan and other bills being presented to address educational costs and budget constraints at the state level.
Marshall and Selectmen Vice Chairman Dwight Bardwell have led a unified board in opposition to the plan, citing the many questions that remain as to just what such a plan would cost York.
The School Committee has voiced the same concerns: the toll such a plan would take on the local educational system and the questions that remain as to whether taxpayers in coastal communities like York and Ogunquit would actually save any money if LSRS wins the legislature's support to move forward as part of Baldacci's fiscal 2008 budget proposal.
"I'm looking for a reason why I should find that this is a good idea … and I can tell you I haven't found any reason," Marshall said at a recent Board of Selectmen meeting.
He said it is ironic that, when the state is struggling to balance its own budget, Baldacci's proposed solution includes a brand new tier of government with regional budgets ranging in size from $20 million to $200 million per year.
The Sanford Region's annual budget would be approximately $180 million, he said, noting that is 10 times the size of the York County budget.
"They'll take our money … and our school property … and decide how to distribute that amount," Marshall said, noting the funding formula would be based on each town's property value, creating "donor towns" within the region.
Marshall urged residents to contact their local legislators and voice their opinions on the governor's plan.
"As he proposes to literally take over the individual Maine towns' school systems … he's taking it directly to our representatives, not us," Marshall said of the reality that there will be no public vote on any of the plans currently being reviewed in legislative committees. "There's a big deal going on. The public hearings have already been held. The options are already being deliberated. … I think our towns that are really going to be affected by this need to band together."
Bardwell agreed, pointing to the state's track record with implementing any educational reform.
"They can't even get educational standards - standards - to be coherent and working across the state. How can they get every school district in the state and do this? And this is fast-tracked," he said.
Under the plan, local school boards will be gone, 300 superintendents across the state will lose their jobs and 26 will be hired to work in districts ranging from 2,000 to 18,000 students, he pointed out.
"This is way, way too much on the fast track. There is no way this should be implemented this quickly," Bardwell said, urging residents to contact York and Ogunquit's representatives, Sen. Peter Bowman, D-Kittery; Rep. Windol Weaver, R-York, and Rep. Dawn Hill, D-York. "Mr. Weaver has come out on the record that he will not support this, Ms. Hill has not … This is a huge issue, folks, and it's going to cost us. … This could be catastrophic to education in York as we know it."
Selectman Len Dorrian pointed out that there is a disparity in education from community to community in Maine, but added this is not the way to solve that, especially with declining student enrollment and an aging population.
"I don't like the governor's plan … I think the best way is to keep as much control as possible at the local level," he said, adding area towns can work together to come up with plans that make more sense but to have a plan forced on municipalities by the state "is the worst of all worlds. … It doesn't make sense, what they want to do, and we have to do something ourselves, or it's going to be done to us."
Selectman Michael Estes agreed, and chastised the governor for proposing LSRS in the way he has.
"It's just a very bad plan," he said. "He knew that if he presented it prior to his election he would not be the governor. … I think we're on the right track. I think we need to contact our local representatives. … They should be getting a letter from everyone in the town of York … to vote against this proposal."
That is exactly the position that has been taken by the York School Committee with regard to LSRS.
Like the selectmen, School Committee Chairwoman Patty Hymanson has acknowledged that collaboration and consolidation can be good ideas in general, but they need to be done locally and with the support of the individual communities.
As School Committee member Tim Fitzgerald put it, "From all parts of the state, there is concern about the governor's plan. It is too fast … it is all top-down. … I think that it will be drastically changed."
Vice Chairwoman Marilyn Zotos said the plan should have been presented with a timeline to allow districts to devise solutions, with LSRS as the outcome if the districts could not work together to meet cost-savings concerns, not as the starting point.
"There was no discussion … we're just being forced, suddenly, in a very quick way that does not allow us to look at it deeply and thoughtfully," she said.
The committee has agreed to seek a legal opinion on what its options might be and has also drafted a requested letter to the state on what the York School Department would be willing to do in terms of consolidation.
According to that letter, the state should retain current districts while requiring participation in a regional cooperative. Within the cooperatives, districts could choose their own partners. Among other efforts, the regional cooperative's goal "would be to meet fiscal benchmarks in a timely fashion, and share the generated savings with the state. Efficiencies in financial management, facilities, human resources, fuel, special education, nutrition and educational supplies would be the focus of fiscal savings, although other areas might also be targeted depending on the resources and needs of a given regional cooperative."
The committee previously drafted a letter of opposition to the legislative committees, stating, "any school reorganization plan should include provisions for local voter approval and (be) consistent with Maine's long tradition of local governance, local control and local participation in the education of Maine's children."
The timeline for a plan to be presented to the full legislature out of the ongoing committee work is mid-March.
To see the full text of the York School Committee's requests to the legislative committees, see Letters.
