MAINE'S SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION MESS

AN INTERESTING and instructive conflict of values is taking place in Maine, where the Democratic governor is attempting a massive consolidation of school districts - aided by that rest stop for Washington elites awaiting their next government appointment aka the Brookings Institution. There is no evidence that such consolidation helps education. In fact, the decline in American public education has been matched by massive consolidation of school districts - from 83,000 in 1950 to 14,000 in 2000. And there has been a similar leap in the size of individual schools. One result: as size increase, the job search turns away from educators and towards corporate executives and wardens - with predictable results. We've reported on this before and an update follows.

How important is this? The town of Yarmouth had 311 people show up for a forum on the topic. This would be like 332,000 people showing up for a meeting in Los Angeles to discuss school policy. Why this much involvement? One reason is that the Maine decentralized approach to government is far more hospitable to citizen participation, just the sort of virtue school consolidation diminishes. One other thing: 96% of those at the meeting voted against consolidation.

THE YORK WEEKLY, ME - It's been several months since the school consolidation mandate was handed down by Gov. John Baldacci and we're still waiting to learn how York will benefit from his master plan. It sounded like a good idea at first: whittling down the state's 290 school districts to 80, making most of the cuts in administration so that our school programs would remain intact and teachers would be retained. The plan boasted $30 million in savings. In a state where the outcry against our tax burden continually grows louder, and in the face of gloom-and-doom surrounding high oil prices and the mortgage lending fallout, saving money seems pretty sensible. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like York will be saving much of anything.

Instead, the options presented by a Regional Planning Committee, which took on the task of formulating a merger between York and the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District, show that York will be spending more no matter how the pie is sliced. . .

The law, however, may not be the law much longer. With at least 60 bills on school consolidation filed before the Legislature, calling for everything from a complete repeal to amendments, it's impossible to tell where we'll be when it's time for a final decision on whether to merge or stay solo. . .

We're not sure what the governor was thinking when he went forward with his consolidation proposal, but if he was hoping to create a legacy before the end of his last term in office, it seems he has a good chance of succeeding. Taxpayers will likely mutter his name under their breath during school budget season for some time to come.

JENNIFER WICKLINE, LETTER, PORTLAND PRESS HERALD - The "supersize me" attitude is alive and well in Augusta. It's happening in the form of school district consolidation. . . The Sinclair Act of 50 years ago was a similar situation of school consolidation. There's documented evidence this previous effort increased school administrative spending by 406 percent.

Fifty years ago, towns were not forced to consolidate. Today, all school administrative units are required to develop consolidation plans. The local control small towns currently enjoy will be a thing of the past. . .

What are the implications to our small towns, where the local school is often the lifeblood of the community? . . . Something that makes Maine unique is under fire.

GEORGE SMITH, KENNEBEC JOURNAL - It seemed like a good idea at the time. We were almost unanimous in our understanding that Maine was spending too much on school administration. We agreed that this problem ought to be fixed. We were unified and ready to act. So how did things go so wrong?

The answer is simple. We made it too complex. We made it too costly. We made it too fast. We mandated it. And we failed to get key constituencies on board.

Today, school consolidation is threatened by a citizen initiative to repeal it, legislative bills to scale it back, and the upcoming votes of Mainers who are likely to reject their new school districts. . .

Perhaps most aggravating, this consolidation is likely to end up costing us more money, not less. Curriculums will have to be merged, with lots of new books and other material and teacher training. Teacher contracts will go up to the level of the highest contracts in the new districts. More principals will be hired. And the state's cuts in school aid in areas like transportation will shift more of the burden to the property tax.

Actually, it will be our property taxes that skyrocket because of this convoluted, poorly planned consolidation. . .

Brookings clearly spelled out the problem, reporting, "Maine's schools and school districts employ an unusually large number of administrators and other non-instructional staffers whose presence drives up expenditures and suggests inefficiency. Maine's K-12 system employs, for example, one administrator for every 127 students, much higher than the average ratio of one to 212 and the nation's fourth-highest rate of administration." Likewise, Maine taxpayers support one school or district administrator for every 11.1 teachers -- the country's ninth highest number of administrators per teacher.

"Maine could realize between $10 million and $35 million in annual K-12 education-costs savings without closing or consolidating a single school by reducing administration costs to various national or Maine-consolidated-district standards," concluded Brookings.

The savings could be achieved without consolidation. And collaborative efforts between schools and districts could help reduce costs too -- without consolidation.

We're being force fed an unpleasant stew and it may be time to up chuck it all and start over. . .

You remember rural Maine. It's where people used to live and work, where kids got good educations in small schools, where life was lived the way it should be.

Isn't it time to recognize that Maine has some great teachers? We ought to get out of their way and let them teach. Maine has the highest ratio of "other" payroll to instructional payroll, with $2.13 going to non-instructional payroll for every $1 going to instructional payroll. Don't blame teachers for this costly mess.. . .