Baldacci would cut money for teachers Reform proposal alters state funding formula

PORTLAND – Gov. John Baldacci’s school reorganization plan calls for less state funding for teacher salaries and higher student-teacher ratios in the classrooms.

While much of the attention has focused on reducing the number of school districts and slashing administrative costs, the governor also wants to change the formula the state uses to determine how much it pays to local school districts for teacher salaries.

The resulting spending cuts would be the equivalent of 650 teacher positions, something that’s sure to meet resistance from teachers and parent groups.

“When the governor starts saying there’s going to be more cuts, I can’t fathom it,” said Liz Holton, who has children in the second, fifth and eighth grades in Portland schools. “He needs solutions to make the schools better – not take things away.”

Supporters of Baldacci’s plan say reducing the number of teachers and raising Maine’s student-teacher ratio won’t hurt student achievement.

Maine’s student-teacher ratio – roughly 12-to-1 in 2005 – is the third-lowest in the country, behind Vermont and Rhode Island, according to the National Education Association. The NEA says the national average is about 16-to-1.

The issue, backers say, is how to get the biggest bang for the state’s education dollars. In the case of teacher salaries, Baldacci wants to reallocate the money to expand the state’s laptop computer program to all high school students and to create a college scholarship fund for more than 15,000 needy students over four years.

“It’s a part of the choices we think will enhance learning,” Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said. “We think this is a smart move.”

Baldacci’s plan to consolidate Maine’s school system, dubbed “Local Schools, Regional Support,” is one of more than half a dozen school reorganization plans that have been submitted to the Legislature. All of them will be considered at a daylong public hearing today at the Augusta Civic Center before the Education Committee.

Of all the plans, the governor’s has drawn the most attention with its promises of $241 million in savings over three years beginning July 2008.

Much has been made of the part of the plan that would reduce the number of school administrative offices from 152 to 26 regional school districts. But the idea of reducing the number of teachers is beginning to draw notice, as well.

Maine’s current allocation formula uses a student-teacher ratio of 17-to-1 for elementary schools, 16-to-1 for middle schools and 15-to-1 for high schools. Under Baldacci’s proposal, the formula would be changed to a single student-teacher ratio of 17-to-1 for all school levels.

That may not sound like much, but the result would be funding for 650 fewer teacher positions, at a savings of $25 million to the state and $25 million to local districts over two years, according to the state Department of Education.

The cuts are not expected to hurt student performance, Gendron said. Research shows that small classes from kindergarten through grade three are beneficial, but there’s no evidence that small classes change student achievement beyond that, she said.

The revised formula takes into account a trend toward a falling student-teacher ratio in Maine and across the nation. One reason for the decline is that Maine’s student enrollment is falling – at the rate of 2,500-3,000 students a year.

But the change in formula would be a hard sell politically, said Ron Bancroft, a founding member of the Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education.

By and large, Bancroft agrees that the student-teacher ratios in Maine are too low. But he also knows that teacher cuts and class size are the types of issues that can draw people to school board meetings.

“That’s the kind of thing that packs meetings and intimidates school boards,” said Bancroft, a former school board member from Cumberland. “I’m pretty fearless – until you confront me with a room full of parents.”

The proposal has teachers concerned for their jobs, said Chris Galgay, president of the Maine Education Association.

Galgay, for one, doesn’t buy the argument that having larger classrooms won’t have any effect on classroom learning.

“The only research I need is my personal research, which says when you increase class size it affects instruction,” said Galgay, who was a public school teacher for 15 years. “It’s hard to find somebody advocating for higher class size.”

While Baldacci’s plan would reduce state funding for teacher positions, it doesn’t mandate teacher cuts or larger class sizes, state officials say. Schools would have the option of spending more money on the local level to maintain the status quo.

Furthermore, they add, the impact isn’t likely to be catastrophic. For example, the formula change would result in just one less teacher at a middle school with 300 pupils, they say.

That’s not much consolation for Erla Coburn of Durham, a parent of a third-grader and president of the local PTA.

One reason Coburn moved from New York City to Maine six years ago was for the smaller classes and local control she got in Durham. She’s not so sure children will benefit by consolidating school districts into megadistricts and cutting teacher spending.

“There’s no better investment, in my mind, than in our children,” she said.