Southern Maine School Budget Woes

RSU 13 will be laying off teachers (0.00 / 0)

next year. Before the consolidation, Rockland was part of SAD 5, and had worked very hard to reduce the student-teacher ratio in the classroom. Our two kids that have gone to Kindergarten had no more than 15 kids in their classes, and often this was less by the end of the school year, as some kids moved away.

These teacher layoffs mean that where there are four classes per grade this year, next it will be just three. This puts an even greater burden on districts, schools, and teachers that have a higher than average number of Title I and special needs children, as they will now be concentrated in fewer classrooms, meaning less one-on-one time for them, and more disruptions for the other students.

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by: Gerald Weinand @ Fri Feb 26, 2010 at 06:56:31 AM CST

Facing the same in RSU 38, Maranacook (0.00 / 0)

Maine abandons education in RSU 38 to the tune of one million dollars!  Our state allocation will significantly drop from $5.17 million to $4.11 million.  The current proposal handed out at a Tuesday night public hearing is for a cut of over 21 FTEs.

As a board member from the 1990s who participated in keeping classroom sizes down, adding new programs, and increasing the number of student days (slashed long ago), this is gut wrenching.  

The bottom line is that for all our talk about education as a prime priority, paying teachers well, and caring for the next generation, this country chooses war and tax cuts over education and this state chooses curtailments and broken promises over rational tax policies.  Instead, the Feds and State allow myth of local control to morph into only local control over devastation.

My children have graduated but I still want a vibrant education system that produces knowledgeable citizens, enhances my community, and produces highly educated, skilled, and compensated workers in this country that add to the foundations of our society.

On a related front I highly recommend this opinion article, written by Susan Melcher, a Maranacook teacher, for its innovative perspective:
http://74.125.93.132/search?q=...

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by: Bruce Bourgoine @ Fri Feb 26, 2010 at 10:41:17 AM CST

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I just read this morning... (0.00 / 0)

Scarborough school board OKs cutting 43 positions.  They'll have a final vote in March.

MSAD 51 will need to make between 30-35 layoffs to stay budget neutral.  

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by: Derek Viger @ Sat Feb 27, 2010 at 05:50:10 AM CST

Gubernatorial candidates please respond (0.00 / 0)

In addition to the over one million dollars that RSU 38 will lose in state allocation, it get's even worst in the following year when an additional $435,000 that is in the proposed 2010/2011 budget also goes away in stimulus funds.  It is obvious that this money, both in the current 2009/2010 budget at $359,000, really saved actual jobs as opposed to the trash talk radio conservative propaganda contending the opposite.  Even if Maine ups allocation to schools in the future, the hole to fill will be deeper.

Thus I ask again of candidates for governor:

A pathway to having a renewed discussion on education and an emergence of leadership for educational excellence lies within this year's Maine gubernatorial race.  As voters and citizens we must press our national representatives to demand national vision on education, full funding of every mandate, and a more rational prioritization of education.  At the local level, we need to expose the abandonment of principle forced upon us and identify the local stop gap measures that we can enact. However, a broader state conversation on establishing a genuine vision that meets our aspirations for the forthcoming generations could be best facilitated by a candidate for governor willing to lead on this issue with a focus on excellence and a willingness to forthrightly address the revenue commitments necessary to meet the investment challenge.  Please step forward.

See complete prior post: Aspiration or Abandonment.

Yes, we must live within our means.  Properly funding education is within our means using an appropriate revenue path: 1 temporary cent on the sales tax.  And not properly funding education today will destroy our future ability to provide the means for our livelihood.

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by: Bruce Bourgoine @ Sat Feb 27, 2010 at 08:23:16 AM CST

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