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Education Panel Votes Against Charter Schools

Posted on: Wednesday, 11 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By WALTER GRIFFIN; OF THE NEWS STAFF

AUGUSTA - Charter schools may be a fact of life in most states but it appears that Maine might have to wait a bit longer to join the club.

The Education Committee on Tuesday voted that a proposal to make charter schools legal in the state ought not to pass. The committee's 8-2 vote still allows the bill to go to the full Legislature for a hearing, but the panel's rejection makes its chances of winning approval more difficult.

Sen. Carol Weston, R-Montville, the bill's sponsor, said she was disappointed with the vote but pledged to continue to push for the bill's passage. Maine is one of 10 states that does not permit charter schools, she said.

"It will go to the floor and we will have a roll call vote," Weston promised.

Charter school proposals of one type or another have been before the Legislature for more than a decade. This latest version focused on helping "at-risk" students by allowing communities to form charter schools to address their needs. Charter schools would have more flexibility in designing programs specifically for those students, supporters claimed.

The bill allowed for a pilot program that would establish two charter schools per year over a 10-year period. The schools could be started from scratch, they could be existing alternative programs, such as those currently operated by some of the state's school districts, or private schools already working with dropouts and teen parents such as The Community School in Camden.

"I think it's a good law," said Community School head Emanuel Pariser. "I think it covers a lot of the concerns because its major focus is the kids not making it in the traditional system. It gives them some option. I think the law pushes in a direction in a way that it hasn't before."

The measure also would permit the schools to tap into the huge pool of federal funds set aside for charter schools. Federal law provides charter schools with grants of $150,000 per year for three years and would bring in $9 million if all 20 charter schools were established. No federal money is available to states without charter school legislation.

Sen. Elizabeth Schneider, D-Orono, said she was concerned that the state was not meeting the needs of some students. Schneider said many of those students later could become much more costly burdens to the state if they wind up in the criminal justice system where a year in prison costs about $40,000 per individual.

"I think we are missing students who definitely have the potential to become much more of a financial burden in the future," she said.

Though other committee members said they supported the goal of trying to keep students from dropping out, they questioned whether the federal pledge would extend beyond the three-year grants. They noted that the state has more needs than it has money and that taking on additional programs could create long-term problems.

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron told the committee that while she was "empathetic with the population to be served," she said it would be difficult for the department or school districts to add another program at a time when they are already pressed for time and staff.

"I don't believe the department or the schools, at this point, can take on a new initiative," she said. "Folks are stressed to the maximum."

Weston said she found it difficult to believe that the committee was willing to dismiss a program that has been successful in 40 other states. She said the issue should be one of need, not time or money.

"I think it is disappointing to have our department of education say we can't take on any new things, that we do not have the time," Weston told the committee. "As legislators we are the policy- makers. If the policy is good, it's worth the time."

Source: Bangor Daily News

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