Legislator seeks to ban public school screening effort

AUGUSTA – A Holden legislator has submitted a bill that would make it illegal to screen students applying to a public school.

State Rep. Darren Hall, R-Holden, said he sponsored the legislation, titled “An Act to Prohibit Admissions Screening by Public Schools,” as a response to the Brewer School Committee’s passing a new admission policy in early August that requires all nonresident students to be screened based on behavior, academics and attendance.

“If you are a public school that accepts tuition students, you can’t pick and choose who you want to attend,” Hall, who is up for re-election, said Thursday.

Hall is opposing Democrat Benjamin Pratt of Eddington.

The legislation is necessary to prevent discrimination against students who are denied admission and may have no other school to attend, he added.

Before submitting the bill, Hall consulted with Louise Regan, superintendent of SAD 63, which is made up of Holden, Clifton and Eddington.

SAD 63 sent about 260 students to Brewer High School last year. That’s the highest number of tuitioned students among the 20 or so districts and communities that send students to Brewer.

Regan “strongly supports the legislation,” he said. “In fact, SAD 63 has retained an attorney to investigate if the actions at Brewer High [School] are even legal.”

Regan said Thursday that she supports the legislation because she wants to “ensure all students have an opportunity to receive a high school education.”

The bill will be reviewed by the next Legislature in January.

Under Brewer’s new policy, which goes into effect today, nonresident students would need to supply two years of academic, attendance and disciplinary records along with a recommendation from the principal or superintendent in order to be admitted.

“I think most people know the purpose of this [policy] is not to exclude children,” Daniel Lee, Brewer School Department superintendent, said Thursday. “We want kids to be good students, attend school regularly and behave.”

The admissions policy is the first step in long-range planning that eventually will cap the number of students at Brewer High School in an effort to control costs, which fluctuate annually based on the number of sending students, Lee said.

Lee said he understands that sending districts are worried, but his responsibility is to the community of Brewer.

“They can send their children to any school in the state – they have pretty much unlimited choice,” he said of sending districts without a high school. “We understand they’re worried. It’s not our intent to create a hardship.”

Old Town’s school department also is considering a similar policy to the one unanimously endorsed by Brewer’s school board.

Hall said the new admission policies would hit his district particularly hard. He represents House District 20, which includes Bradley, Clifton, Dedham, Eddington and Holden, none of which has a high school. All of his communities send a majority of their high-school students to either Brewer or Old Town.

“My whole district is up in arms,” he said.

The policy is a form of discrimination based on hometowns, Hall said.

“This creates a real dilemma for outlying towns that will have to find a school that will take all the kids who get rejected,” he said in a press release. “This amounts to discrimination, plain and simple. I find it appalling that a public school system would even consider enacting such a policy, and I will do everything in my power to stop them from doing it.”

Hall said he’s also worried about a domino effect occurring.

“What will happen if every public school around here adopts a similar policy?” he said. “In a state where every child is guaranteed a public education, how can public schools deny students?”

Hall coached the Brewer High School boys soccer team for the past four seasons, but was not rehired for the upcoming season.