Educators and advocates for Maine’s labor force warned members of the Legislature Tuesday that slashing funding now, when the economy is at its weakest point in years, will stand in the way of a quick recovery when things turn around.
A well-trained workforce will be critical to ensuring that Maine doesn’t lag behind when the turnaround comes, argued a steady stream of speakers who testified before the Legislature’s appropriations, labor and education committees during day two of hearings on Gov. John Baldacci’s 2009 supplemental budget proposal. The hearings were scheduled to conclude today.
Christopher Galgay, president of the Maine Education Association, said he fears the state has “lost its way” in ensuring that quality education is accessible for whoever wants it.
“While it is clear that over the next few weeks this Legislature and the governor will have some very difficult decisions to make, you must also be aware of the impact your decisions will have on the future of Maine’s economy and the education systems that support our economy,” Galgay said. “As elected representatives, you also have an opportunity to put in place the elements that will lead Maine out of this depressed economy. Every dollar the state spends on education is an investment in the Maine economy.”
The budget proposal, which is designed to account for a $140 million downturn in revenues between now and June 30, calls for a $27 million curtailment in state funding for local schools and an $11.8 million cut to the state’s higher education institutions.
Public school professionals advocated a change in the way the state proposes to distribute the $27 million cut in funding, by either cutting every system by the same percentage or pushing some of the pain into the next fiscal year.
Portland Interim Superintendent Jeanne Whynot-Vickers, whose department stands to lose $1.8 million – more than anywhere else in the state – urged more “creative solutions to the challenge.”
“I would suggest that the Legislature create a line of stop loss or cushion, so that no school unit loses more than a fixed percentage of its previously allocated state aid,” said Whynot-Vickers. “If the fixed percentage were 5 percent, this stop loss provision would mean a cut of $750,000 for Portland instead of the $1.8 million proposed.”
Erica Kimball, president of the Maine School Board Association, said that revenue downturns are also happening at the local level, exasperating the statewide situation.
“One thing that could help is time,” said Kimball. “An option that we hope you will give consideration to, is to push at least part of this cut beyond this fiscal year so that it can be absorbed more gradually.”
Also proposed is a $172,000 cut in funding for the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing – formerly the Gov. Baxter School for the Deaf – which brought out several impassioned testimonies about the school’s value to people with hearing impairment.
Lynn Schardel, interim director of the school, said this cut is particularly devastating on the heels of a $500,000 cut that occurred last year.
“With those budget cuts behind us, we have been trying to move forward, and therefore were stunned to learn that the governor’s proposal included an additional $172,000 mid-year reduction,” Schardel said “We cannot weather this proposed cut without laying off staff or feeling direct impact on our services.”
In addition to education matters, the committee also heard testimony from several cultural organizations, including Maine Public Broadcasting Network, which because of several factors, faces a $900,000 revenue shortfall. About $116,000 of that is in state funding.
MPBN has responded with salary reductions for all full-time employees, deferred union wage increases, a hiring freeze, the layoffs of eight employees, and elimination of retirement plan matching contributions for six months, among other items.
However, according to Jim Dowe, MPBN’s CEO, a decision was made Tuesday to cancel a change that has caused outcry from listeners and watchers in northern Maine: the closure of transmission towers in Fort Kent and Calais.
Dowe said his organization, the state and other constituencies have agreed to seek short- and long-term solutions to keep those towers open and therefore not interrupt programming for residents of those areas.
The towers closures were scheduled for Jan. 15. Some Legislators said they’ve received more calls on this issue than they have on the school consolidation process.
“We have decided to find a way to avoid shutting those two towers,” said Dowe after the hearing. “Our audience means so much to us.”
