Officials fear the latest budget cuts will cause more damage than the funding crisis of the early 1990s.

AUBURN – Barbara Eretzian can’t forget the school funding crisis of the early 1990s. As Auburn’s school superintendent, she lives with the consequences every day.

Unexpected cuts in state aid forced Auburn to eliminate 60 school jobs in one year.

Sports teams were dropped and the textbook fund raided. Building maintenance got clipped to almost nothing.

Buses began to fall apart. Over the years, technology lagged.

Still recovering, Auburn can’t afford to drop its “pay-for-play” rule, which charges students to play sports.

Textbook replacement is slow, and there is no major maintenance or equipment replacement fund.

Between 1990 and 1993, schools lost millions of dollars when Maine slashed or froze school funding. At one point, the state stopped paying for new construction and major additions.

“I do think it hurt,” said Eretzian, who was assistant superintendent in the early 1990s. “I don’t want to see that happen again.”

But it could.

‘Definitely worse’

As Maine grapples with new shortfalls, school aid is again taking a hit. Recent cuts are less than those of the early 1990s, but officials say this round could cause more harm.

Many point out that their schools haven’t completely recovered from the damage done a decade ago. They say they have fewer ways to adjust their budgets now and more requirements to meet.

“This is definitely worse. This is when the going really gets tough,” said SAD 9 Superintendent Michael Cormier.

In order for school systems to balance their budgets, the Maine Department of Education let schools cut music, art and other programs in the early 1990s.

But the Maine Learning Results, a 1997 outline of what schools must teach, largely prevents officials from reducing programs now.

“How do I comply with all these different regulations – none of which anyone is willing to waive – and have the resources to do it?” Cormier asked.

A decade ago, the Maine Department of Education also let school officials shorten the school year.

But this time, the education commissioner won’t allow it. A Newport-area superintendent already has asked for a waiver from mandatory attendance – a move that would cut 10 days from his 2003-04 calendar – so he could balance next year’s budget. His request was denied.

“I do not believe it’s in the best interest of kids,” Commissioner Susan Gendron said. “They only get 175 (mandated) days now.”

In the past, schools also could save money by stalling curriculum work and slowing efforts to boost student achievement. As long as they provided a safe environment with basic academics, they received little notice.

But now, schools are required to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act, an 1,100-page education reform law signed by President George W. Bush in 2001.

The law forces schools to greatly increase student testing and to ensure that all students meet state standards by 2013. But it costs money to do that, administrators say. And school systems that don’t meet the requirements are deemed “failing” and can lose precious federal funding.

“It’s a noose around my neck already,” said William Shuttleworth, superintendent of SAD 39 in Hartford, Buckfield and Sumner. His Buckfield Junior-Senior High School has been listed this year among 24 Maine “priority schools” because of low student test scores.

With limited state help, Shuttleworth must make expensive reforms to his school and find a way to balance next year’s $5.7 million budget.

Picking the bones

Many school leaders are worried about the future.

In SAD 9, Cormier has the education of 2,800 youngsters to watch over, two of them his own.

To save money, he can’t legally reduce contracted salary increases or teacher benefits. He can’t get more money from the state or his towns because it just isn’t there.

He has had to cut staff development, supplies, maintenance, duty monitors and other staff, even knowing that the Farmington-area school district will have an enrollment increase next year with a larger-than-normal kindergarten class.

With his district still feeling the effects of cuts made during the 1990s, he worries that many more losses will have a disastrous effect on education.

“If we don’t prepare them for the future that is coming, we are shortchanging our future,” he said.

At the Maine Education Association, President Rob Walker worries this budget crisis will lead to the consolidation of schools and school districts, to the detriment of students. He’s concerned that layoffs will mean larger class sizes and more stress on educators.

He fears that experienced teachers may get tired of trying to meet state and federal mandates with too few resources, too few programs and buildings badly in need of maintenance.

“It may just be the one extra piece that’s convinced them it’s time to leave,” he said.

SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman has cut maintenance and other areas that will save the Oxford Hills district money but will have only a small effect on the classroom this year.

With the budget crisis expected to continue next year and school aid set to drop by $6 million, he doesn’t know what he’ll do in a year.

“We’ve already picked away at the bare bones,” he said.

Eastman is concerned that everything his school system has worked for – from the advanced placement classes to the middle school foreign language program – will ultimately be eaten away.

“You look at the things that we’ve built up over the last five to seven years,” he said. “It has a significant impact.”

Solutions vary

Many education officials agree that the recent budget crisis could damage education.

The solution is up for debate.

“The answer? Be realistic about expectations,” said Paul Malinski, superintendent of School Union 44 in Litchfield, Sabattus and Wales.

Malinski, who calls the No Child Left Behind Act the “destruction of public education as we know it,” says lawmakers should take another look at that law and the Maine Learning Results. He wants schools to have leeway in following their mandates if state and federal funding isn’t there.

“I don’t even want them to promise more money,” he said. “Just give us what you promised.”

Walker thinks the answer is more money.

Adding one cent to the sales tax would generate $140 million, he said. That would give every school system enough money for everything.

“A well-funded formula floats a lot of boats,” he said.

In Auburn, where eight school jobs were lost this year and the superintendent worries about having enough money to fix roofs and teach foreign languages, Eretzian isn’t sure what the solution is. Whatever it is, she hopes it comes soon.

Said Eretzian, “We’ve been just making it year by year, and we can’t do that forever.”


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