Augusta Insider has been running a series on education. The blog asked all the gubernatorial candidates to fill out a questionnaire. Peter’s answers are below. Other candidates’ answers can be found at Augusta Insider. Some controversy is brewing over one of the candidate’s answers — see pinetreepolitics.com for details.

Q1. Should K-12 education funding be stabilized by the state?

In the last two years, there has been nothing predictable about anything in our nation’s economy. It is the worst and possibly the longest economic downturn since 1933.

The question asks whether state tax payers are obliged to hold public schools harmless from the impact of state revenue losses. The truth is that K-12 education has suffered no worse than other state supported programs, like human services and corrections.

Even if it were within the state’s power to exempt education from economic pressures, it would be inappropriate to do so. There is much room in K-12 budgets for cost reduction. Maine spends about $2000 more per year on each child than the rest of the nation. Although school populations are shrinking, Maine has more school administrators than ever. Maine has the second lowest student-teacher ratio in the U.S. (11 to 1). We have one of the highest levels of special ed designation in the U.S. (almost 1 child in 5).

There is clearly room to do better in controlling the costs of local education. Since school budgets are managed by local school boards, they should not be exempt from the financial pressures that everyone else must work under.

Q2. Race to the Top.

Maine has made a poor effort to participate because the teachers union (the MEA) is overtly hostile. They have successfully opposed charter schools in Maine, leaving us as only 1 of 11 states that don’t authorize them. The MEA opposes the use of student achievement as any measure of teacher evaluation. Local unions have refused to endorse Maine’s application for Race to the Top funds. Given this level of resistance, it is unlikely that Maine will be awarded any competitive grants.

Details:
Teacher Evaluation
Charter Schools in Maine

Q3. Mainstreaming.

Mainstreaming is implemented on a case by case basis. Although we hear anecdotes about troubled kids disrupting classrooms and interfering with the education of others, any good administrator would see to it that such a child is removed from the classroom. State and federal laws permit it.

Q4. Integration of education from pre-school to adulthood.

Two years ago, I sponsored the Department’s bill to permit longitudinal tracking of student academic history. To evaluate the effectiveness of our educational institutions, it is extremely important that we track student performance over time right into adulthood, despite reservations expressed by civil libertarians.

Q5. Persistently lowest-achieving schools.

By federal law as applied to Maine, the label of “failure” is attached to those schools where standard test scores (the MEA and SAT) fail to improve over a succession of three years. It is tough to measure school performance on the basis of a single standardized test that is given only once to a different group of students each year. It makes more sense to use “value added” tests, such as those from Northwest Evaluation Associates (NWEA), in which each child’s growth is individually measured throughout the year. These are inexpensive computerized tests that are already used as instructional aids in over 120 schools here in Maine.

If teachers within a school are persistently unable to demonstrate that their kids are making progress, then it is those teachers who ought to be targeted for help and later labeled as “failures” if remediation is unsuccessful. Teachers are more willing to accept these “value added” assessments as a valid indicator of professional performance.

Q6. Sports versus arts.

This is an issue customarily left for local districts to decide. It is my own view that a good physical education program need not be expensive. Although football costs a lot, cross-country and track do not.. No matter how tight budgets get, it is usually possible to manage a sports program at some level. As between arts and sports, I think a strong arts program is more important, but a phys ed regimen can still be maintained at minimal expense.

Q7. Is the MEA obstructive and how to deal with them.

See my answer to Question 2. One way to work with teachers is to appeal directly to MEA members. Many are not in sympathy with union leaders. Most good teachers would prefer to work in a system that recognizes merit and has portable pensions.

Details on portable pensions.