Superintendents puzzled by state laptop funding

BANGOR – Superintendents aren’t sure yet what to make of Commissioner Susan Gendron’s recent announcement that funding for high school laptops could be included under the state’s new education funding formula, the executive director of the Maine School Management Association said Wednesday.

“It’s raised a whole new series of questions that people don’t have answers to,” said Dale Douglass, whose group represents school boards and superintendents.

All Maine high schools would get laptop computers over the next three years as part of the technology funding included in the Essential Programs and Services model.

“I don’t think many people will say they’re tremendously excited or opposed until they understand how the laptop program fits into all the other issues” including Gov. John Baldacci’s recently proposed tax relief legislation and Gendron’s recommended education funding level for the next biennium, Douglass said.

On Wednesday, the state Board of Education approved an $824,028,009 spending package for the budget cycle that runs July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006. The spending proposal represents about $84 million more than state aid to local schools in the current budget.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Bangor Superintendent Robert Ervin had questions of his own. He was waiting to hear whether funding for expanding the laptop program would be new money infused into the Essential Programs and Services formula or a redirection of funds within the EPS formula.

“The issue is how are we going to pay for and maintain our existing computer infrastructure if the money is inside the formula and being redirected and dedicated solely for laptop implementation,” said Ervin. Bangor does not provide high school students with laptops but has more than 1,600 computers and 30 servers systemwide that are fully networked. The 1,600 figure includes about 700 laptops, which are provided by the state to seventh and eighth graders.

Superintendents also are wondering how high school laptop funding compares with the rest of the allocations for Essential Programs and Services and how much money local schools will have to spend on programs because of the uncertainty over how much must be dedicated to direct property tax relief, according to Douglass.

He also questioned whether the state or the local school systems would own the machines and who would be responsible for maintenance, insurance and repairs.

“There’s a whole host of issues that need to be addressed,” Douglass said.