On Sept. 12 voters rejected the revised Regional School Unit 9 budget once again. Since the NO vote produced the same result as a YES, continuation of the 2016-2017 budget, the overworked and (I suspect) increasingly exasperated School Board must gather to deliberate once more about revisions. Our ever-amiable superintendent, Tom Ward, believes that communication will improve if people listen to both sides. Although I claim to be at least 35 percent more amiable than Tom I’m not expecting improvement.
Christine Shea, director of special education services, seems to share my skepticism. She reports that the most vocal critics of budget boosts she meets do not want information and reject the facts she has to offer. Her frustration is understandable. No discussion is possible if people call you a liar as soon as you open your mouth. There’s frustration on the critics’ side as well. It would help if the charade of local control was dropped. Voters see an ever-growing and mystifying special education budget line and find all objections are met with dismissed because state and federal legislation have pretty much made all the decision for local voters. An aggravating problem for Ms. Shea is a suspicion, shared by many people, the directors of special education have roughly the same DNA as taxpayers; they are born with egos and corresponding self-interest mechanism. In brief, many people sense an element of self-interest in her presentations.
It may help to clarify the budgeting problem if we list some information the tax payers need for a complete and accurate picture.
First, We don’t expect to hear what our poorest property owners have to give up to pay their growing tax burdens since there’s no really reliable way to make an exact determination. But we arrive at a more balanced view if it’s at least acknowledged that they too must sacrifice. The single-minded emphasis on what the school must give up is just annoying.
Second, When we are told that 30 positions would be cut if the reduced budget had passed we are left to wonder if RSU 9 has 900 employees. This is the total implied if a cut of less than three percent results in 30 lost jobs. We need some clarification here.
Third, Since RSU 9 is not a jobs program we ought to be told what actual services will be cut. A reduction in budget lines tells us nothing.
Fourth, A rough estimate of the average spent for each graduate would be an enormous help to the taxpayer trying to figure out what his community is getting from these ever-growing budgets. Let me emphasize—each graduate.
Fifth, At the last school board hearing a businessman attested to the deficient skill sets of RSU 9 graduates he employed. The striking thing about his remarks is that there were no other inquiries (that I noticed or can remember) about the quality of RSU 9 graduates. I have no direct local knowledge of the matter myself, but I have seen 32 years of New Jersey high school grads pass before me at Middlesex County College. I don’t believe complacency is the default position on this matter. Quality questions should be asked. Should be answered.
Sixth, Has the quality of the educational product kept pace with the budget growth? Are we graduating more and smarter students? Are we graduating fewer and dumber students?
What I’m thinking about just now is Governor Angus King’s “lap top computers for all program.” It got a lot of attention and a lot of praise. People expected marvelous educational transformations. Some may have hoped that the program might propel Maine to the lead in high tech developments. How many people can describe the actual benefits? Mind you, Great Angus himself argued in his gubernatorial campaign book that all such programs should be systematically and empirically evaluated for their actual results. His never was; never will be. Over the years I have summoned a half dozen young computers wizards with their magic wands and mystical ball peen hammers to exorcise the demons that periodically infest my machines. None of them ever gave the slightest credit for their skills to that famous program. I’m willing to assume that there have been clever imaginative teachers who put those lap tops to good use. But the information to support my assumption has never come my way.
John Frary of Farmington is a former candidate for U.S. Congress, a retired history professor, an Emeritus Board Member of Maine Taxpayers United, a Maine Citizen’s Coalition Board member, and publisher of FraryHomeCompanion.com. He can be reached at jfrary8070@aol.com.
It would be helpful for people to acknowledge that their taxes aren’t going up because of the school district (even though there are 75 more students). The school district has actually been asking for less each year from local taxes. The state and federal government are covering the increased costs since they’re the ones who required the extra expenses. However, people keep insisting that they personally are bearing the increased school costs – they’re not. I don’t understand why people get confused with the distinction between local tax totals and the school budget. Our taxes go to many sources, not just schools. Costs from other sources can increase and they often do. This whole thing is like screaming at a convenience store clerk abut being unable to afford higher gas prices (total school budget), when your individual cost (local taxes towards education) is actually less than before due to a federal/state reimbursement program. I’d imagine the clerk rolling their eyes several times…
Exactly 900 employees can’t be extrapolated from a 30-position cut. That would require that every employee is paid exactly the same amount. It would be highly unlikely for that to happen in any organization.
People like to complain about how awful our students turn out… and then want to cut more money from their education. How is that supposed to fix anything? We already have a problem with neighboring districts offering higher teacher pay – luring the best teachers to their district. Art, Music, Foreign Languages, and Sports (items on the chopping block) in education have been proven to produce better students who are more likely to get into higher education. If we go with some people’s suggestion of just offering basic subjects, we will get exactly what we paid for – even more low skilled workers.
Here are some of the numbers: https://dailybulldog.com/features/school-board-certifies-vote-schedules-new-meeting/
I don’t believe any of these ideas will be addressed before or after the budget vote in October. The liberals will get their way and then push for a 3% increase next year.Sadly the liberal vote outweighs the common sense in our community. Hopefully I have used good grammar and spelling, if not, you can blame it on my Mt. Blue education.
@Taxed enough
I truly hope your next post consists of concepts more advanced than “liberals!”. The world is much more complex than that and it’s silly to stoop to name-calling. How about a discussion with factual information instead? Otherwise, I see a very good argument for increasing school funding.
Your grammar isn’t perfect, but it’s not the worst I’ve seen. If you think Mt. Blue education is so bad, how do you think cutting even more money is going to improve it?
It’s unproductive to base current budget votes on predictions of the future. I could just as easily predict that the trend in tax-based funding will continue – decreasing our individual school funding responsibilities even further. Why are you so upset about the education budget asking for less money from our local taxes?
Fifth: Did the business man know what skills his employees needed, and hire accordingly? As we all know, Mr Frary, we learn what we need and what we want to learn. Even I sometimes learn just enough to get by, and then forget it.
As far as the qualities of other Mt Blue Graduates, please read the local papers and you will see: Army, Air Force, Marines as grads move through. You will also see community college and University system announcements. If a reader should dig far enough they would also find the military academies gladly accepting MBHS grads through the years, along with small schools from the East like BC, MIT, Northeastern, University of Maine, Princeton, Yale, and then even further out: Michigan State, RPI, Syracuse, Cornell…etc etc., etc.
As a wise man like you knows…a small sample does not represent the whole distribution within a given population.
As a wise man like you may know, or may not know, RSU 9 is one of the lowest cost providers of education in Maine, and it will stay that way.
Taxpayers: Beware, two years in a row of reducing taxes, may lead to a third year of reducing taxes. If such a thing does happen, will the towns accept the lower assessments, and reduce their mil rates? Likely, yes.
Taxed Enough-
Why do you phrase it, “the liberals will get their way”? That is a giant generalization. Maybe you are just a minority in the conservative base? Conservative is not defined as someone that does not recognize their financial obligations. Furthermore, there are different kinds of conservatives and liberals. There are fiscal conservatives, social conservatives, fiscal liberals, and social liberals. A true fiscal and social conservative would recognize their local assessment hasn’t changed, their local tax portion has gone down, praise the schools for being financially responsible by not costing the tax payer an additional amount for 2 years in a row, support more local control and pursue less State and Federal regulations that have caused their taxes to go up.
As has been discussed relentlessly, the increase to the budget is due to State and Federal mandates and 75 new students to the district. That is why the overall number went up. That is also why the State is contributing more. The local tax assessment (the local portion) has not gone up. That is why you aren’t seeing an increase to your local taxes from the school this year. That’s also what happened last year.
I know you’ve engaged in the commentary of many of the Bulldog articles. So, I’m not sure why you are not recognizing this statement that has been made by both liberals and conservatives. Again, with increased Federal and State mandates, there are increased costs.
When you label a group in opposition of you and with such a judgemental tone, it appears you don’t really understand what you’re talking about.
“Taxed enough” – There is nothing “liberal” or “conservative” about this. The way some people want to use the term “liberal” suggests that the reason they aren’t open to the facts is that they have chosen to see this through ideological blinders. I prefer a pragmatic approach.
I hope people realize that for the second year in a row, LESS is being asked of property tax payers – a total of $545,000 less! The school board went through the budget looking for anything to trim – and voted against needs because we decided that it was more important to make sure we didn’t increase taxes on the community.
All that hard work, and yet it gets rejected by people like “taxed enough” because they look it at as “liberal” or “ideological” rather than looking at the facts of what’s actually taken place. Still, I hope that if this budget passes we can, for the third straight year, decrease taxes next year. It would be nice if those worried about taxes would acknowledge that fact.
Scott, you left out the word ” frugal ” in your last comment.
Has the local assessment changed since the September 5th meeting ? I assume it is the same ? Seven out of ten towns seeing a decrease ? As I’ve said before the taxes are not my issue , but when three out of the ten towns in the district WILL see an increase in there assessment you can be assured those people WILL see an increase in there taxes this year. With that said it will definitely be a few dollars per household depending on the population of that town. So please dont say that peoples taxes are decreasing, that is not totally accurate.
I have found discrepancies in the information that has been sent to me but that I will take up at the next meeting because it more than likely wouldn’t be posted on here if I did.
Sillanpaa-
You’ve announced your candidacy for the Industry School Board position in the comments of the Daily Bulldog. And then, you let all the readers know that you have never been present at, or participated in, any school board meetings, that you feel a right to criticize. That is a very odd campaign strategy.
Jesse, sir is a net decrease of $545,000 a decrease? Is the doubling of the homestead exemption a decrease? Have the two, or was it three Maine Income tax cuts in the last 7 years been decreases?
With all the talk of increase/decrease, is it OK in your book to acknowledge the decreases?
Is it worth discussing the impact of property revaluations on the typical taxpayer? That those revaluations have increased taxes for many over the last two years, while many others dropped ?
Or shall we only look to the school system, paying for increased services for the most needy of our students?
Are you better educated in the spirit and reality of the “IDEA” laws than some of our folks in DC?
Since you have definitely studied the budget so thoroughly, which cost centers have had the most increase? and why?
If you have studied the budget, and the budget history of other districts, surely you know we are one of the lowest cost providers of education in the state, when compared on the equal footing basis? (Debt service, transportation, and Vocational school costs are not equitable across the state…debt comes down towhee’s schools were new or rebuilt last, transportation in large rural districts is way more than suburban or urban…and not many schools have local tech programs.
I get the fact that the budget has had a decrease.I get that a great deal of the incurred cost in rsu 9 in the last ten years is from the cost of building new buildings and we are paying that off which should reduce the budget over the years. I get that 70+ new students will cost us more but also that people moving to the area and kids are actually a sign of a healthy growth rate. I get that IDEA is a federal mandate and that we need to honor that but I don’t get how some commenters seem to blatantly ignore the facts and make targeted emotional accusations and insults against people who are brave enough to use their real names? It’s almost as if the “outrage” is just a couple of people using multiple names to insight anger and “outrage” on the anonymous comment section so they can show up at a meeting and say they are amazed by the “outrage”!
If I run a business, lets say it’s an oil shop which is one of the biggest tax payer subsidized for profit industries, and my cost of doing business goes up due to an increased customer base and increase in raw product, should I flat line my budget and skim my other customers to supply the new ones?
I love this area because it’s unique in that I’ve never seen another place like it. This county is geographically and socially the quintessential movie script all American kind of place. Taxes in Farmington are going up this year but NOT due to the school budget. I’m going to work an extra 5 hours a year at 10$ per hour to pay the difference for a jail, plow trucks, and other essentially deemed public services. Not a bad deal for keeping the people safe (Most of our county taxes go to the jails, courts, and county officials), the roads plowed, and the kids well educated. The future is now and it belongs to all or us tax payers.
Reality and Do it right I asked a couple simple questions about the town assessments for the three towns in question. I don’t see any reason why thay can’t be answered. I can see that there have been many reductions in places. I can also see the numbers get moved around to other lines as well. Its not as complicated as they want people to believe.
RSU 9 certainly hasn’t done it right budget wise or education wise for quite a while and isn’t showing any signs of improving. The teachers need someone to get them back on track about what to teach and how to teach it!!!
@ Reality and do it right and Sam
Thank you for your reasoned and well-expressed commentary.
Wow ,yes, homestead exemption up from 15,000 to 20, 000. Then the town raised valuations to cover the difference! What a joke!
@Jesse Sillanpaa
Perhaps you should try attending one of the meetings? That’s where those types of questions should be asked and answered… not on a comments section of an opinion letter. You’re right that it’s not that complicated, but people are getting tired of answering the same things over and over again while other people claim everything they say is “liberal lies”.
@Woodsman
Let’s hear your version of what should be taught and how. It’s easy to criticize without having a workable alternative to offer. Please be much more specific than “less money/better teachers!”. What learning materials would you like to see used and what teaching philosophy would you recommend (for each grade/age/ability)? What subjects would you change (and how) to ensure that kids are ready for college? Are you certain that you know what you’re doing and won’t destroy kids futures?
*by the way… Did you know that our kids can use their time in high school foreign languages to skip foreign language requirements in college?
@Deductions, ha!
It’s getting tiresome to keep repeating that the school has no control over valuations (or other town costs). The school is asking for less money from local taxes. That doesn’t mean a town’s other expenses don’t increase. The school system has no responsibility (and no ability) to control how much plowing, firefighters, jails, police, etc… cost the town.
School budget goes down, the mil rate doesn’t usually follow suit. Just drop every program that is not conducive to getting a job or higher education. Drama and music classes, language classes, the number of students vs the number of taxpayers whose kids won’t take those classes doesn’t justify spending money on those programs.
@Guppy and all others, in my opinion the culprit of our present dilemma in education is called THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION. Please read Michael Savage’s book THE ENEMY WITHIN. Coincidentally, on this date,September 23, in THE MORNING SENTINEL , also please read on page A5 the editorial The Best Way On Education. I absolutely agree education should be a state and local issue. Because it is not , we are seeing the direct results of the NEA and the FEDERAL DEPARTMENT of EDUCATION’S influence on our schools!!! AND read up on Horace Mann and his thoughts on education. To further address all you’ve asked Guppy would take many more lines than I wish to type or the BULLDOG would wish to publish.but for starters ,I’d investigate the availability and expense of TEXTBOOKS, CURRICULUM GUIDES, and a competent director.
Guppy I have been to meetings. I also have never said anything about liberal lies. Lets stick to the facts but if you can find in any of my comments in past posts feel free to show them here. I dont put politics into education because they don’t belong hence our problem we have with budgeting and cirriculum guidelines (common core).
Instead of bashing those of us that are pointing out discrepancies how about you open your eyes and ears. If more people would look at the issue from our side maybe just maybe there would be more transparency and less ridicule and name calling. Happy Sunday folks.
@Woodsman: Horace Mann has redeeming qualities. “In 1838, he founded and edited The Common School Journal. In this journal, Mann targeted the public school and its problems. His six main principles were: (1) the public should no longer remain ignorant; (2) that such education should be paid for, controlled, and sustained by an interested public; (3) that this education will be best provided in schools that embrace children from a variety of backgrounds; (4) that this education must be non-sectarian; (5) that this education must be taught by the spirit, methods, and discipline of a free society; and (6) that education should be provided by well-trained, professional teachers. Mann worked for more and better-equipped school houses, longer school years (until 16 years old), higher pay for teachers, and a wider curriculum.” ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Mann
Michael Savage does NOT. His professional name is the tip off.
Correct link to Horace Mann: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Mann
Woodsman,
Maybe instead of blaming teachers for not teaching and what to teach,you may want to start with yourself, if you are a parent with children in school, parents and whoever outlines the curriculum to be taught. Teachers are told what subjects to teacher they don’t pick the subjects themselves.
Jesse Sillanpaa
I never said you personally wrote about “liberal lies”. I was simply pointing out why people are getting tired of explaining things on these comment sections. These comment sections aren’t even the right place to be looking for info. I’d hazard that most (if not all) of the name calling has come from the cut-more-money side. People are getting sick of even bothering to reply under those conditions. You obviously have an internet connection and you’ve stated that you have been to the meetings. Instead of demanding that people provide you with more info… why don’t you go get those facts and explanations from the source yourself?
Educating and explaining isn’t the same thing as “bashing”. Why do people feel so threatened when their beliefs are challenged with established facts? “Opening our eyes and ears” doesn’t mean instant agreement with your beliefs. That’s especially true when the facts contradict those beliefs. Ignorance should not be celebrated and protected. It should be openly ridiculed when people cling to it.
@Woodsman
“I’d investigate the availability and expense of TEXTBOOKS, CURRICULUM GUIDES, and a competent director.”
Please do, I think you’d find the results enlightening.
@Hrtlss Bstrd
Every student in our school system spends several years in a music class. It becomes optional once they get into the older grades. Every student is also enrolled in language classes, which also becomes optional as they get older. Those classes you consider “extra” are what college admissions look at to decide if a student has put in more effort than the bare minimum required to get a diploma. They’ll take the student with more subjects/interests over those without any.
@Mike, that’s part of the problem, teachers are told what to teach AND what not to teach. One conflict that has surfaced is RSU 9 says math specialists or interventionists are needed in each school. Are not the universities and colleges preparing future teachers to teach math and recognize individual needs? @Marie, I’M delighted you’ve studied up on MANN, whose ideas and teachings have proven successful for many years,until of late in some schools. The sad fact that faces our present society is that the average graduate isn’t achieving anywhere near what grads of 15 and more years ago did! Proof is in talking to them, AND checking all assessments given to students k-12. Do you want to correct it or let it continue? Throwing more money at it isn’t the answer. Also, I’m not blaming the teachers…..
Woodsman, I’ve been teaching at the college level since 1990. I’ve seen a dramatic increase in skills, knowledge and engagement over especially the last decade. While some of us old folk might be tempted to always see our music, movies, and schooling has better, that’s nothing new. I Every generation makes that claim. They see difference, and judge their own experience as superior. Nothing I see from today’s youth suggests that to me. In fact, when I consider what my kids are learning and experiencing, and talking with the teachers and seeing the wonderful educational environments being set up, I think the current generation is perhaps the best educated and most ready for the world.
The problem is – there will always be some who choose not to try, or simply have trouble with math or reading. Someone will meet someone like that and it will confirm their bias – “See, the schools didn’t prepare this person.” If they see a smart and articulate young person, they’ll not think to credit the school system.
Many more young adults these days are less equipped to deal with a wider variety of skills.
We are trained to manufacture cheap, throw away, rather than be frugal and repair. Quality products are all but a thing of the past.
Meal making and eating has left to fast food and prepared.
The difference, I see, Scott, is how society changes the target/goal, what we consider ” smart “.
The downfall of America will be debt. Modern education is now dependent on large debt. Many large wage earners are educators and it comes at a price. ( I’m not talking CEO’s )
I am certainly not saying teachers are rich, I think teachers are underpaid, but underpaid only in respect to it costs so much to live in these times.
If you look at the world around us, as a whole, I don’t see the human race as getting smarter.
But there are pockets, individual areas and places, where life is good and we are progressing as people.
It guess it boils down to what measuring stick you use to check for smarts.
billyjoebob-
In a climate where people are continually critiquing the efforts of the schools to help in educating those entering the workforce, keep in mind this RSU has worked in conjunction with another RSU to provide retraining to those in need. The ill equipped ‘young adults’ you speak of that have lost their jobs at paper mills have found new careers through the instruction of RSU 9’s adult education courses. After Verso announced it’s closing, the Adult Education at RSU 9 in collaboration with RSU 73 reached out to the employees to provide retraining in other fields. They looked to help those struggling to find new careers to be successful in.
Even beyond recognizing emergency needs in the community when plants close, the school works to support those recently attempting further education after a hiatus from academics. As was seen in the most recent article on the daily bulldog.
RSU 9, provides continued support to the towns in all stages of life, from pre-K to elderly learners. It is a unique district that has a well established Vocational school and Adult Education program available to the public. Not all, or many, schools in the State can boast this. Nor can they match RSU 9’s incredible ability to remain a fiscally sound school with one of the lowest per-pupil costs in the State.
You mention above that the growing cost of education has caused many to take on unneeded debt. I would remind you that because of the phenomenal education many of the students are receiving at the high school level, they are allowed to test out of multiple courses in college. Some of the High School and Vocational students are also being awarded college credits for the courses they are currently enrolled in. Saving the students thousands as they enter into their first year and giving them an above average support as they pursue their career goals. Some of the vocational students intern and eventually are hired by local employers that appreciate the skills the ‘young adults’ have obtained.
As far as teaching salaries go, teachers are paid below the national average salary. Furthermore, Maine teachers are paid less. Beyond that, if you look at the Maine DOE 2015-2016 Regional Salary Cost Index, you will see RSU 9 teachers are paid under the State average. You seem to recognize in your statement that teachers are underpaid but also call them “large wage earners”. I don’t follow your logic as it seems you are contradicting yourself.
The school has reached out to support our community, and now is asking for that in return.
http://www.maine.gov/education/data/eps/fy16/RegionalSalaryCostIndex_FY16.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States
https://www.indeed.com/salaries/Salaries,-Maine
http://www.teacherportal.com/teacher-salaries-by-state/
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/franklin/0001/11/30/spruce-mountain-adult-ed-graduates-14-students/2141773
https://dailybulldog.com/features/college-transitions-program-helping-adult-learners-take-the-next-step/
Thanks for the information Reality. Communication is my poorest subject so articulating what I was meaning is very hard for me.
I said ” educators “, not teachers. To you it may be the same but to me it isn’t. I didn’t really mean K-12. I was referring more of higher education, where major debt occurs.
I am not bashing displaced employees, or anyone for that matter. I just am a very observant person who has work all over the US. It has been my experience that many of the young people ( I have worked with displaced mill workers and the ones I have worked with I would consider very smart ) are lacking in many real job related skills.
Like showing up, listening, following instructions.
I really think that there should be more apprentice type programs for blue collar, service orientated fields, just my opinion though.
I was agreeing most, including Maine K-12 teachers, are underpaid. Hear that, I AGREE. But most likely where we disagree is where the money to pay them should come from.
From what I have seen RSU 9 and education in general in this area is much much better than many other areas I have lived in. Including where my children went to school. But I have also seen ares where the school systems went downhill fast, and it wasn’t from lack of funding.
I applaud the young adults retraining and the system retraining them.
Living within ones means and adjusting to the reality of that and trying to be happy is what life is about, in my opinion. Not by who has the bigger salary/house/car/boat/DEBT.
From the bus boy to the CEO, if the person is happy…who cares what title we have.
billyjoebob-
“From the bus boy to the CEO, if the person is happy…who cares what title we have.”
Agreed.