AUGUSTA, Maine — A study will soon be under way into state funding of Maine’s public schools with an eye toward correcting perceived flaws in allocating $900 million per year to districts throughout the state.
A five-member advisory panel met last week to take the first step toward evaluating Maine’s school funding formula under the 2004 law known as Essential Programs and Services.
A bill approved by the Legislature this year authorized up to $450,000 for an independent review of EPS. The first step in the process involved assembling the advisory committee to write a request for proposals. The bids will be reviewed in July by the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee, which will select the winning proposal.
It’s about time. One of the best things the LePage admin can do for education. That EPS formula has screwed us all. It was just a way for the state to get around paying more back to towns to pay for education after the passage of the people’s referendum for 55%. The state just redefined what counted toward the 55%. And they still don’t even pay THAT number either.
Yes, it is quite a quandary. The people wanted the state to pay 55%, but the the “people” think that Maine is broke and can’t afford that level of state expenditure. What to do, what to do.
I guess the rural part of maine doesn’t see this any part of the $900 million/yr in school funding, it must go to the larger yuppy filled areas instead. So let’s spend a half a million dollars on this study instead of using the half a million for funding of our school. As a result of this “study” more funds will probably be cut to rural maine schools just because they can.
I don’t think more money is going to public schools in urban or suburban school districts than their rural counterparts.
I hope this isn’t another Tax Payer give away study to a Private concern like the East West Highway Study!
Hey! Now that I think of it!
Just Imagine The State Taxpayers Paying a Toll to Vigue every Time we Drive a Private School Bus across his Private rd that we “Eminent Domained” for him, so that the kids can get to the Private School that we Vouchered!
Tell me how does THAT fit into Tax Reduction?
Who is on the panel? How did they get named? What are their affiliations?
The legislation lists form where each of the five members comes; I do not know who the actual persons are:
1. The Commissioner of Education or the commissioner’s designee;
2. The Chair of the State Board of Education or the chair’s designee;
3. A Co-director of the Education Research Institute established pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 10;
4. The Executive Director of the Maine School Management Association or the executive director’s designee; and
5. The Director of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine or the director’s designee who is a faculty researcher, research associate or policy fellow at the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center.
http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0702&item=5&snum=125