A Failure to Communicate

A little more than a year ago, Gov. Angus King allowed the Legislature to adjourn knowing the state had an unexpected shortfall of at least $180 million in its current budget. The problems that this decision heightened – it wasn’t clear what the governor could do on his own, what lawmakers would support when they returned, how much worse the shortfall would get in the coming months – kept state government frozen with uncertainty for the rest of the year. But the lesson was learned: Keeping quiet about major public challenges made them worse.

And it was learned by the incoming governor, John Baldacci, who made it a point to talk about everybody being on the same team, everyone pulling together for the good of Maine, etc. In his inaugural address, he said, “The task ahead of us is to show Maine people that we’re with them, that we can all work together – Democrats, Republicans, Greens and independents – to reach out to those people working in the woods, on the oceans, on our farms and make state government a positive, relevant force.” Some incoming legislators may have used their new official stationery to thank the governor for changing the tone in Augusta.

They may have wished this week that they hadn’t, after they discovered that for months state and now federal investigators have been auditing Maine’s Migrant Education Program for alleged misuse of funds. That makes this not one, but two problems: the need for the audit and the decision not to directly tell lawmakers. Officials at the Education Department have known since at least last fall that personnel problems have affected this program; the complaint about inappropriate eligibility for the program and the over-identification of recipients should have warned them that significant violations were possible.

Since January, legislators have been trying to make a limited education budget fit nearly unlimited demands on it. They have debated and compromised, agreed to funding levels and tried to build consensus, all on the assumption that the money they were told was available would actually arrive. During much of this time the administration knew the U.S. Office of the Inspector General was investigating the department and that $4.2 million in federal money logically assumed to be in the budget might not all be there next year.

Certainly, it is understandable that the administration would not report to legislators every minor management glitch within its departments, and audits are common enough that, by themselves, they might not require comment. But in this case, because Education knew that it had had difficulties in the past with the program, it should have been aware that the infractions being investigated could well turn up something substantial. The Legislature’s Education Committee should have been briefed on the issue; those found responsible for any violations that do turn up should be dealt with swiftly.

It is easy to link this investigation with the one of the missing records for funding at the Department of Human Services and conclude there is some conspiracy of incompetence in Augusta. That is certainly wrong. But there are serious issues of lax oversight, hands-off management and an inability to communicate between the executive and legislative branches that make problems much worse. This is a wonderful opportunity for Gov. Baldacci to avoid repeating a mistake of the past administration by deciding to be more forthcoming now.