More Politics

 

 

     It would be interesting to explore various funding sources that are used to operate our public schools. First, we should understand that school departments legally do not have revenue generating authority. The traditional means to fund schools has been through a combination of federal, state and local appropriations. The federal government's contribution to running public schools is 7%; Maine has set the state's contribution at 55%; which leaves local contributions at about 38%. Is this reality? We all know that in Maine neither the federal nor state government appropriation targets have been met. This has created tensions at local municipal levels resulting in either local school budgets that cut programs/services or increases in local property taxes to maintain school programs/services.   This is the case throughout the United States.

 

     President Trump's proposal for the federal Education Department includes large cuts and large additions, both which will result in cumulative cuts to school departments across the US.  As expected, a $9 billion proposed cut would compromise the ability of schools across the nation, including Maine schools, to provide necessary staff professional development and after-school programs. The federal education budget proposal seeks to add $1.4 billion (presumably using the $9 billion cut) for private school vouchers and charter schools, with $1 billion dollars to follow students to the school of their choice. In Brunswick, before/after-school programs and professional development activities benefit all students, but they especially support students whose achievement levels are lagging. Brunswick School Department has a well designed assessment and intervention system that identifies students as they are falling behind and provides immediate and targeted academic and behavioral support to eliminate achievement gaps before they become too large. Every penny counts to operate these programs, as they do in other school districts. One program that Brunswick lacks is a pre-K program due to the lack of space and money to support it, even though a quality pre-K program would address achievement gaps prior to kindergarten entry. The infrastructure required to build and maintain these programs that promote school achievement cost money, but cost efficiencies build up over time. Once space is allocated and staff is trained, the benefit can be there for future years. These efficiencies then allow the building of new programs that can use the same space and trained staff, like a pre-K program, over time. However, when politics intervene, such as eliminating or redirecting large sums of money, a dismantling effect slowly erodes the very programs that benefit so many students. At some point, the cost efficiency, and the programs, disappear.

 

     This is exactly what we have seen over past years. Federal mandates and initiatives which then trickle down to state mandates and initiatives such as voucher programs and charter schools, divert dollars from public schools to private schools. (As long as charter schools are not required to follow the same rules and regulations as public schools, as long as they do not have public oversight, I and many others view them as private schools.) When a per pupil amount of money is identified to follow a student (ie. deducted from a school departments overall budget) to a private school of their choice, over time this accumulated amount erodes the cost efficiencies that can be achieved.

 

     Governor LePage laments school superintendents as wasted administrative money, but he supports charter schools. Charter schools will have their own administrative structure that will be supported by public dollars. Charters outside of Maine have also had boards whose members have made fiduciary decisions that send 'operating' dollars to businesses they or relatives own. The wife of a board member 'owns' a charter school building where the husband, and other board members, decide the school will be located. When does the rent increase?  A board member owns a testing company that a board decides to use for their assessment program. A relative of a board member is a staff consultant to the director.  Ethical? Would public tax dollars be better spent supporting a pre-K program or an after-school program or be diverted to profit for some business?

 

     As we move into budget deliberation season, let's keep our heads clear and rationale. Let's make good decisions that benefit students even as money is drained away as 'per pupil' dollars might flow to private schools and charters. And let's scrutinize all laws pertaining to public schools, current and proposed, that will allow money to flow out of our schools to 'choice' and charters. In time, the political pendulum swings. Let's preserve the heritage of our public schools.