Maine

Travels With Bailey

Joe Mathews — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:22:00 -0400

Ballotpedia has a staff writer, Bailey Ludlam, in Maine who is filing a very informative travel journal on her interviews with people on both sides of some of the major initiatives and referenda on the November ballot there--including Question 1 (same-sex marriage), Question 2 (auto excise tax) and Question 4 (a cap on state spending--a former of the so-called TABOR, or Taxpayers Bill of Rights limits that have been a hot issue in other states, most notably Colorado, which adopted TABOR and then repealed most of it).

Backer Drops Referendum on Maine Gay Rights Bill

Joe Mathews — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:40:00 -0400

Perhaps California's move to legalize same-sex marriages really does have legs. According to Politicker, the sponsor of an effort to force a referendum on a Maine law barring discrimination against gays and lesbians has thrown in the towel. He lacked money, people, and, it appears, political support. The same thing happened earlier this week with a referendum in Oregon.

Taming Maine's School Governance Hydra

Lindsey Luebchow — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:00:00 -0400

The Maine legislature passed a school district consolidation plan last week—but in a form dramatically watered down from Governor John Baldacci's original proposals. Maine has one of the most complicated, decentralized school governance systems in the country, and as a result spends far more than the national average on school administration.

By reorganizing the system into larger districts (while also maintaining a degree of local control), the consolidation legislation could lead to a much more efficient system that sends more education funds directly to Maine's classrooms—but only if Maine's school districts agree to participate. Ed Money Watch hopes that local communities will recognize the benefits of consolidation as they decide whether or not to adopt the legislation's reforms.

Maine is an Administrative Mess

Take a look at Maine's school districts in New America's Federal Education Budget Project database, and you'll get an idea of how confusing and inefficient the current system is. Maine's public education system encompasses a variety of different administrative units: municipalities, school administrative districts (SAD), community school districts (CSD), regional school unions. The SADs are groups of municipalities that pool their resources into a school; the CSDs are another type of group of municipalities that pool a different set of resources; the unions are groupings of school administrative districts that share only the costs of a superintendent and the superintendent's office, but maintain their own separate budgets for everything else. And they are all called "districts."

Confused? So are we. We ran into numerous difficulties attempting to figure out how federal funding is distributed to these various units for the EdBudgetProject.Org database (not to mention their demographics, student achievement, etc). One district (Monhegan Plt School Department) enrolls only seven students, and many others enroll between 10 and 20 students. To be sure, some Maine school districts are small because they are located in rural, geographically isolated areas where few people live. But other districts are simply smaller than is necessary or efficient. Because these districts spread fixed educational costs, such as administration and facilities, over so few students, they take money away from the classroom.

According to Education Week, there is one school district administrator for every 750 students on average nationally. In Maine, there is one district administrator for every 350 students. Maine spends $346 per student for administration—compared to the national average of $195 per student.

Cost-Saving Proposals

Numerous reports demonstrate that Maine's sprawling school administrative system needs reform, and that reorganization could produce substantial cost savings. When Governor Baldacci entered his second term, he made this reform a priority. His original consolidation proposal would have reduced Maine's school system from 290 administrative units to 26 regional districts, and put the savings back into schools.

This mandatory consolidation plan encountered great resistance across the state, because many residents feared losing local control of their schools. Over the past year Baldacci worked with legislature to alter the plan to make it politically viable. Many, many iterations later, the legislature finally passed a version last week. The legislation will eliminate financial barriers and disincentives that prevent small school districts from reorganizing and will create incentives for districts with fewer than 2,500 students to do so. In contrast to Baldacci's original plan, the legislation would make consolidation voluntary, rather than mandatory, and would not go as far in eliminating inefficient administration. Baldacci is not happy with the result, but he will likely sign it into law after the long battle.

Under the pending bill, local voters must approve any school district reorganization. Reorganization plans are developed locally by the participating districts, which can maintain some degree of local control over school governance. The participating districts negotiate the size and composition of the school board, and in addition to the board they can create "local school committees and specify their powers and duties." Districts that do not pursue consolidation must submit a plan to the state for reducing administrative costs. In addition, districts that don't reorganize will face financial penalties, specifically reductions in state funding and an increased chance of rejection for school construction projects.

Reorganization as a Positive Reform

Parents may be concerned about how reorganization into bigger schools may affect student achievement. One recent study found that there is no relationship between school district size and student outcomes in Maine. Moreover, parents should consider how the substantial cost savings will improve the academic opportunities at many schools, for example by freeing up funds to hire specialized teachers, buy advanced technology, etc.

Communities will have to approve reorganization plans by referendum by January 30, 2009. Ed Money Watch hopes that all local districts will develop plans for administrative reform, whether it be through reorganization or other economies of scale. Maine voters should set aside any knee-jerk responses to consolidation and seriously consider the benefits of reorganization.

Tuesday Round Up: School's Out on Nevada Election Day

Joe Mathews — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:52:00 -0400

TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL: Here's an important and under-reported story: Nevada's schools will be closed on Election Day in November. That should boost turnout in a swing presidential state. And it also could give a boost to the Nevada teachers' unions, who are attempting to raise gaming taxes to boost education funds. Not having to teach that day will boost turnout. Also, about 800 of the poll workers could be students, says the state's registrar of voters. In related news, a Nevada judge rules that two measures to tax gaming to provide funds for education can remain on the ballot. The judge thinks they make little sense, but says that the voters have the right to decide that for themselves.

AG'S DOMAIN: Some agriculture interests are getting aggressive in opposing Prop 98, one of the two measures on June's California ballot that would put restrictions on eminent domain. The Sacramento Bee says that this represents a divide in the agriculture community, since the California Farm Bureau is one of the initiative's backers. (Prop 98's restrictions include tigher limitations on using condemnation for private purposes and on retn control than its competitor, Prop 99).

COLORADO CORPORATE FRAUD: The proponent of the Colorado initiative making business executives criminally responsible for corporate fraud explains himself.

MAINE MISS: The Maine initiative to establish a casino has lost its campaign manager, according to ballotpedia.

A DIFFERENT WAY OF PUBLIC FINANCING: An Alaska legislative committee has added money to the state budget for education campaigns that appear to be designed to fight off a ballot initiative lawmakers don't much like. Since states by law often have to provide unbiased information -- most notably in voter pamphlets -- this action is a mistake and should be quickly reversed.

OREGON TOP TWO ADVANCES: An initiative to establish a "top two" primary system in Oregon appears likely to qualify for the November ballot. This style of "open" (that is, multi-party) primary has recently received some backing from the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down previous open primaries. Here's a description of how it works.