SELECTING STUDENTS

It is understandable that Brewer administrators want to know how many students will be attending the city’s high school well before the school year starts. To do this, the school department recently began requiring students who live outside Brewer to apply to attend the high school.

Those with behavioral issues and who don’t show a commitment to school could be rejected, starting next fall. A simpler solution, that does not set up a double standard, would be to set a cap on enrollment and require nonresident students to sign up to attend the city’s high school. Students would be enrolled on a first-come first-served basis.

This is what many other school districts, including Bangor, do and it seems to work well. Instead, Brewer has chosen a policy, that while well-meaning, discriminates against students who are not high achievers. Already, a lawmaker, Rep. Darren Hall, R-Holden, has submitted legislation to ban admissions screening by public schools. This

could have been avoided.

Maine’s system of allowing parents who live in towns without high schools to generally choose where their children will attend high school inevitably creates tensions. Some towns have contracts obligating resident students to attend specific high schools. Others allow parents to choose any school. Many high schools, such as Brewer, rely on tuition students to fill their classrooms and round out their budgets. Half of Brewer High School students reside in other communities.

The problem comes in predicting how many students will attend the high school each year. There are fluctuations because families move and because students may apply to a private school, such as John Bapst in Bangor, and not know until late spring whether they will attend. Some may simply change their mind about what high school they want to attend.

Last-minute fluctuations wreak havoc with his budget, says Brewer Superintendent Daniel Lee. Seeking predictability, he proposed, and the school board endorsed, a policy requiring nonresident students to supply two years of academic, attendance and disciplinary records and a recommendation from the principal or superintendent in his home district to be considered for admission. Mr. Lee hopes that surrounding communities will use the admissions standards to encourage middle school students to do well in order to be accepted to Brewer.

Mr. Lee says the city aims to shrink its high school while improving the quality of education provided. This policy is a step in that direction, he says, noting that students with discipline problems cost Brewer taxpayers because time and effort must be expended to deal with these students. Students who live in Brewer also may have discipline problems, but none of them can legally be excluded from the city’s school.

This policy could result in “stranded” students who weren’t accepted

at Brewer High School, but because of a lack of transportation or other issues, can’t attend another school. They may simply drop out.

If Brewer wants a smaller school, it should cap enrollment and keep a list of nonresident students who want to go there. Each year, students would be accepted until the cap is reached. The most motivated students would likely put their names on the list first, increasing their chances of admission.

This is a fairer system that wouldn’t result in political repercussions.