Changes likely for Baldacci school plan

AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci’s plan to reduce school administrative districts from 296 to 26 does not have the political support to pass as is, but there is strong and bipartisan support to reduce the costs of school administration.

Both Baldacci and Education Commissioner Susan Gendron have said they do not expect the final legislation will be what they proposed.

But Baldacci said in an interview that he expects lawmakers will want to make adjustments based on what he has heard at meetings across the state and that he is willing to compromise.

Senate Majority Leader Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, who also serves on the Legislature’s Education Committee, said, “People are concerned and they want to do something. Will it pass as proposed? No, and that is not unusual. The Legislature likes to put its stamp on things.”

She said lawmakers and the public agree that Maine is spending too much for education administration and that more money needs to go to classroom instruction.

She said 152 superintendents are too many, but maybe 26 are too few.

“I don’t know what the magic number is,” she said, “but passing any bill will take broad support and it will be difficult to put a package together. But I am an optimist; I think we will pass a bill reducing administration.”

Rep. Jacqueline Norton, D-Bangor, is the co-chair of the Education Committee and she agrees there is broad support for reducing administrative costs. She said the real battle will not be over the number of administrative units, but will be how those units are governed.

“Citizens of the state need to be somewhat comfortable about whether or not their voices are being heard. I think that’s what ultimately it’s going to come down to in the committee,” she said.

Sen. Peter Mills, R-Cornville, is also a member of the Education Committee and said the actual number of districts will depend on the criteria the panel establishes. He said he believes the most efficient size district would be one with 2,500 to 3,000 students.

“We need to set what is the minimum size we want for a district, knowing there will have to be some exceptions like on the islands,” he said. “What are the various minimums that we want to see for every school unit has to be established and we are not there yet.”

In a move lawmakers recognize as politically savvy, the governor put his proposal in the budget and used the projected savings to invest in additional technology for students and to increase funding for the state’s higher education facilities. That increases the pressure on the legislature to craft a reorganization plan that saves significant dollars, said Rep. Jeremy Fischer, D-Presque Isle, co-chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

“All those things hinge on being able to find additional resources by making K through 12 education more efficient,” he said.

Sen. Karl Turner, R-Cumberland, also serves on the Appropriations Committee and has previously served on the Education Committee. He said while it will not be easy, he believes a plan can be crafted that will provide savings and create administrative units that “make sense” and will have the political support to pass.

“I think the real question is how do you drive it,” he said. “There is a camp that believes this should be voluntary and another that says if you make it voluntary, it will never happen.”

But Baldacci has said he will not accept another study to develop another plan for consideration next year.

“The time for inaction is over,” Baldacci said. He also said he would support a different plan “as long as it’s not studying, as long as it is not vacillating, as long as it is guaranteed [tax] relief for people and it has to be a concrete plan of action.”

Gendron said it is clear to her that there will have to be changes in the original proposal after participating in both legislative hearings and several “listening sessions” across the state.

“It probably will be a different number, but there is, I think, an agreement that something must be done,” she said. “We need to achieve our goal of staying focused on academic excellence, reducing administration and creating efficiency.”

Gendron agreed with Mills that research indicates that the most efficient size administrative unit is about 3,000 students in a district.

“If you look at that, we are looking at about 65 districts,” she said. “But if you look at all the factors, and based on all of the conversations I have been involved in, I would say it will be some where between 65 and 95 districts when we are all done.”

The Education Committee is taking this week off, as is most of the Legislature. The panel has a target of mid-March to make a recommendation to the Appropriations Committee.