Triple Whammy

As the 122nd Maine Legislature kicks into gear, Maine educators are being challenged by three popular, but misguided policies:

1. Governor John Baldacci is proposing a multi-level tax reduction plan that does little to help schools and may ultimately hurt them with spending caps.

2. University of Maine System Trustees are moving forward on their reorganization plan despite the overwhelming opposition of its faculty and employees.

3. Maine’s Learning Results are spiraling into a massive assessment boondoggle that is absorbing an infinite amount of educator time and energy.

"It is a real triple whammy," says MEA President Rob Walker. "Association members are really going to have to be involved in this legislative session if we are to slow down, re-think, and redevelop these initiatives so that they actually help students and educators."

After careful study, MEA believes Baldacci’s tax plan does little to improve or invest in schools. Walker says the governor’s proposal has fundamental flaws:

· It fails to implement the June 2004 Question 1 referendum that directs the state to immediately fund 55% of the cost of K-12 schools. Instead, it uses a phased-in approach over four years, similar to the Question 1B referendum option voters rejected in November 2003.

· It fails to address fundamental tax reform by focusing solely upon tax reduction.

· It fails to recognize public education as an investment and treats education as another spending program to be capped.

The University System’s Strategic Plan is equally flawed. Walker notes that Trustees have a strategic goal, but absolutely no idea of a plan for how to get there or what the actual costs or savings or reformations of programs will be. "The University is inadvertently turning back the clock on access and equity," he warns.

The University of Maine Augusta and its University College in Bangor are the hardest hit by the reorganization as Trustees scuttle 2-year programs and theoretically hand them over to the Community College System. Unfortunately, the Community Colleges have no capacity or resources to accommodate more students and more programs.

And, UMA has the third highest enrollment in the system with the highest percentage of female students, and many are non-traditional students who benefit from UMA’s environment.

"The net result will be to deny higher education to worthy students when Maine needs more, not fewer college graduates," Walker concludes. To thwart this unintended consequence, MEA will sponsor a bill calling for a legislative review of the UMS Strategic Plan.

The teacher workload crisis is familiar to every classroom practitioner as reports are flooding in from across the state about the lack of instructional time and the abundance of mandates and assessments.

The Commissioner’s Task Force on Teacher Workload will make its report to the legislature this winter. Their recommendations will become legislation in much need of educator support in order to gain passage.