School budget naivete

The Jan. 10 op-ed by Leonard C. Harlow accurately portrays the bureaucratic tangle facing Maine public schools. However, the concluding statement points out the prevailing naivete affecting change in the local school budget.

Maine law governing the administration of school districts (SADs) specifies that only the local school board (read “superintendent”) can direct where allocated money can be spent. Yet yearly we see well-meaning citizens attempt to slash local budgets hoping to reduce administrative costs. Such past attempts have only led to threats about eliminating those programs that are dear to parents; namely, sports programs, music and the arts.

No considerations are ever made relating to administration downsizing.

If there is to be any real outcome in attempts to reduce the number of local administrators, changes in school law must first be made through the state legislature. Only that will allow more input into where finances are to be allocated at the local level.

Donald S. Dumond

Fort Kent