School merger attacked

BANGOR – Though he was in front of his hometown crowd Tuesday night, Gov. John Baldacci found himself defending his plan to save Maine taxpayers tens of millions of dollars by consolidating school units at the administrative level.

Several of those who attended the packed public meeting at Bangor High School’s Peakes Auditorium – a venue that can accommodate nearly 900 people – questioned Baldacci and state Education Commissioner Susan Gendron on the details of the Local Schools, Regional Support Initiative.

“We can’t continue to do things the same way we’re doing it. We’re going to go broke,” Baldacci said early in the 4-hour session before fielding questions from the audience.

As the governor sees it, the writing is on the wall: Costs continue to rise and enrollment continues to drop.

Another concern he and Gendron had was that Maine Educational Assessment scores have flattened out in recent years, which poses a problem in today’s global economy. Maine graduates, he noted, aren’t just competing with their peers in nearby states anymore, but with their counterparts in such places as China.

“We do a good job, but we really need to do a better job,” he said.

Julia Hathaway of Veazie, a mother of three who serves on her community’s school committee, carried a hand-lettered sign that read: “Governor Baldacci’s Trojan Horse! Question now! Don’t sit back and regret when it’s too late.”

“I made this sign about the Trojan horse because I believe the governor is giving us a Trojan horse under the guise of giving us a gift. Instead he’s taking away local control of our schools and I’m scared out of my wits,” she said.

“It really bothers me that he’s bringing [his initiative] to the Legislature instead of taking it to the voters,” she said.

Gendron outlined the plan at the start of the program. Baldacci fielded most of the questions. Audience members initially had to write their questions on notecards that then were screened before being given to Baldacci and Gendron. A spokesman for the governor said the method was used because in previous sessions, some left frustrated because they couldn’t ask their questions. Later when the cards ran out, the governor took questions directly.

The governor’s proposal, unveiled earlier this month during Baldacci’s second inaugural address, is part of his $6.4 billion biennial budget for 2007-09, which means the education component is tied to passage of the budget.

It calls for reducing the number of school administrative districts from 152 to 26, a move that is designed to save taxpayers $250 million over three years.

So far, the plan has been greeted mostly with skepticism during previous meetings in Lewiston, North Berwick and Portland. When an attendee in Bangor asked those who opposed the governor’s plan to stand up, roughly 95 percent of those in the room rose to their feet.

The sessions, however, have been heavily stacked with teachers, parents, administrators and school board members, so it’s not yet clear what the general public thinks of the plan.

Some did support the plan Tuesday night.

Nick Bearce, a Bangor resident, said consolidation likely would never happen without state leadership.

“School boards don’t have competition,” he noted, adding that it was time the state took the bull by the horns because local school officials “haven’t done it yet and they are not going to do it.”

Dennis Marble, who heads a regional homeless shelter in Bangor, told Baldacci that he was among the 5 percent of people in the auditorium who supported the consolidation concept, which some noted will be a tough sell.

“Many people are going to try to derail this,” Marble said. “Keep it going and thank you.”

Bangor resident Monique Gautreau said the forum was helpful.

“It clarified a lot of information that I’ve heard about,” she said. “It answered a lot of questions I had as a taxpayer,” she said, adding that the Baldacci administration needed to do something to contain costs.

“He was given a mandate [with the Palesky tax-cap initiative].”

The town hall-style session was the fourth of at least five planned so far by Baldacci and Gendron. A fifth session is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, at Skyway Middle School in Presque Isle.

Legislative leaders have reserved the Augusta Civic Center for a full day of public hearings on Feb. 5, when the Appropriations and Education committees will review several major education reform proposals.

Additional sessions are anticipated and will be announced as details are firmed up, according to an education department news release.

For information about the LSRS initiative and additional public forums, visit www.maine.gov/education and click on the Local Schools, Regional Support logo or call the Department of Education at 624-6620.