Despite a setback, the governor still wants the computers in high schools.

The two leaders of the Maine Legislature’s education committee said Monday that the state’s laptop computer program will not be expanded into high schools this fall, but Gov. John Baldacci refused to concede defeat before reviewing his options.

Representatives of Apple Computer Inc. and the state Department of Education met for most of the day to review their options after the Legislature ended its special session with no action on laptops, Baldacci said Monday evening.

Baldacci said he planned to review those options on Tuesday. “All I can say is that we’re exploring alternative approaches,” he said.

His comments came after both legislative leaders on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee offered little hope that the governor’s proposal of expanding the state’s laptop computer program into high schools could be salvaged.

To move forward, Education Commissioner Susan Gendron had needed legislative approval to continue negotiations with Apple aimed at expanding Maine’s first-in-the-nation program from middle schools into high schools this fall.

Supporters acknowledged that they didn’t have the votes as the legislative special session drew to a close early Friday.

“As it stands now, the expansion to the high schools is dead, at least for this coming fall,” Rep. Glenn Cummings, co-chair of the committee, said Monday. The other leader, Sen. Neria Douglass, agreed with Cummings’ assessment.

Now in its second year, Maine’s program has provided laptop computers to more than 30,000 seventh- and eighth-graders in all 241 public middle schools across the state in two phases in 2002 and 2003.

The program – which originally envisioned including high schools – has received high marks from teachers, students and parents.

Baldacci proposed in his State of the State address in January extending the laptop program into all Maine high schools.

“The governor remains committed to laptops and will continue working with the Legislature to find the appropriate funding vehicle,” said his spokesman, Lee Umphrey. Efforts remain afoot to expand the program, he said.

Gendron’s original proposal would have freed state lawmakers from new spending this year while getting wireless infrastructure in place and laptops in the hands of half of the state’s high school students.

Her plan called for tapping $8 million from a renovation fund for installation of wireless routers necessary for the laptop computers to connect to school networks and to the Internet.

Gendron doesn’t need legislative authorization for spending on the wireless networks, and she said last week that she intends to move forward on that part, said Cummings, D-Portland.

But Douglass, D-Auburn, said she felt it would be unwise to spend any money on the project without full legislative backing to expand the laptop program into high schools.

Cummings, who supports expanding the laptop computer program, said lawmakers were too preoccupied with tax reform, bonds and other issues to tackle laptops. It would have been a close vote in the Senate, but prospects were dimmer in the House.

“Property taxes elbowed out all other discussions in the last 72 hours of the Legislature,” Cummings said. “The discussions were so fragile that it would have been unwise to attach laptops to those property tax discussions or budget negotiations.”

There’s still a possibility that the laptop idea could be revisited before the next session if Baldacci calls a special session in late August or early September to take up new bond proposals and property tax relief.

Adding to the uncertainty are two upcoming elections that will have a bearing on the state budget.

On June 8, Maine voters will be asked a second time whether they wish to approve a citizen initiative that would mandate an immediate state assumption of 55 percent of the costs of local education.

This November, state voters will be asked to cap property taxes at $10 per $1,000 of assessed value, based on values in 1996-97.

AP-ES-05-03-04 2003EDT