Keep school choice

On June 27, the Bangor Daily News printed a commentary, “The down side of high-school choice,” that offered one perspective on high school choice in our area. In it, Glendon Rand, a teacher at Brewer High School, addressed the issues of school choice and consolidation, making specific, although incomplete, remarks about John Bapst Memorial High School.

Like Mr. Rand, I too am a resident of Orrington. Unlike Mr. Rand, I believe that school choice benefits Orrington students and the entire Orrington community. School choice was one of the primary reasons my family chose to live in Orrington. When the time came to make a decision about which high school to attend, my two sons chose John Bapst. Other college-oriented students chose the high schools in Bangor, Brewer and Bucksport.

I have a long association with Bapst. As the current treasurer, I can assure the public that the tuition provided to the school under Maine law, which includes the Insured Value factor (IVF), is necessary both to sustain a tradition of quality academic education and to allow the school to maintain its beautiful 80-year-old building. This tuition payment method is the same method that supports more than a dozen town academies across the state.

It is important to notice that the IVF funds do not give John Bapst and the other town academies “a competitive advantage in the marketplace” by supplying funds for construction and extracurricular activities. John Bapst receives separate financial support from its parents, alumni, faculty, and others to make its extracurricular programs possible. When we compare state and local support of private education with support for the public schools that serve the vast majority of Maine students, what is remarkable is how equitable the funding is.

The Legislature preserved choice in the school consolidation plan because that is what the residents in choice communities felt they needed. No two children are alike. School choice helps to ensure that students can find the right school – the one that best fits them.

James C.R. Stoneton

Orrington