Freeport Families for Education

Greetings Families,

The video of last Wednesday’s meeting has been posted. I took a quick pass yesterday evening at indexing it, but I’m afraid the job is superficial. Please let me know if there are other sections (note with the min:sec readout in the lower-left of the video) that should be highlighted.

Here’s the page:

http://www.freeportfamilies.org/?page_id=149

Remember the next meeting is Wednesday night @ 6:30PM @ Freeport High School Library.

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Greetings Families,

Well, it’s all a bit “old news” now, but in case anyone is interested, I’ve indexed the video of the RSU5 Board Meeting held on March 11. Thanks, again, to the RSU board for posting these videos - hopefully the lag-time will be reduced so folks can view them in advance of the following meeting.

http://www.freeportfamilies.org/?page_id=140

The March 11 meeting was dominated by a Freedom of Access training that was delivered by the superintendents, Elaine and Shannon.

The most substantive portion of the meeting was the communications subcomittee report (linked ffrom under Board Comments). Betsy Peters outlines the recommendations for near-term communication initiatives that the board will be undertaking to increase communication with the public.

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Greetings folks,

Thanks to the new RSU Board for publishing a video of their Feb 25 meeting online! Let’s hope they continue posting them - it’s a great way to keep informed of developments. They met last week and no video yet - maybe they are working out the kinks.

So folks don’t need to wade through the entire meeting, I’ve outlined the content of the meeting with links into specific sections of the meeting at this page:

http://www.freeportfamilies.org/?page_id=81

This first attempt at indexing a video is a bit rough, but what do folks think - is this a good idea? It’s quite bit of work, but if we shared the load perhaps we could summarize each meeting in this fashion to make it easy for folks to listen to the important parts of the meetings. Any volunteers? - please contact me directly.

In this video, I recommend the following sections of the meeting:

• “Old Business” section (click the Old Business heading 2/3 of the way down the page) - discussion of superintendent hiring process, the biggest decision the board has made to date and will have a direct impact on the tone and execution of the consolidation merger.
• “Discussion of Virtual High School” section under Elaine’s update - principal of FHS discusses adding the virtual high school program - is this what they are talking about: http://www.govhs.org/

As usual, if anyone has anything to add, please feel free to post.

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Greetings Families,

It’s that time of year again! Below please find the schedule for upcoming RSU#5 budget meetings. These are your opportunities to share your thoughts on budget priorities with the RSU board. I’ll try to get those dates into the calendar at http://www.freeportfamilies.org .

Also, note that the superintendent hiring decision has been postponed (was originally scheduled for last night): http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=244242&ac=PHnws

If you have input regarding superintendent selection, now is the time to submit it to the RSU board members - you can find their contact information at http://www.rsu5.org/sites/default/files/PublicContactList.pdf

Cheers,

pete
peter m. murray
pete@pmurray.com

Saturday, March 28, 2009 Day long budget presentations to the Board
(Special Meeting)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 Budget Review with community input
(Special Meeting)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Budget Review with community input
(Regular Meeting)

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Budget Review with community input
(Regular Meeting)

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Final Budget Adoption
(Regular Meeting)

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 Annual Budget Meeting for public budget approval
(Regular Meeting)

Tuesday, June 2, 2009 Budget Validation Referendum in each town
(State election date)

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Below are couple of charts that illustrate why the plan supporters’ numbers on enrollments are incorrect.  In summary:

• The Maine State Planning Office projections show increasing enrollment of Freeport students in Freeport public schools over the next decade.

• The numbers being used by RPC plan supporters must reflect some kind of calculation error - they are so far off of state projections and current enrollments in lower grades as to not even be possible:
  • The first chart shows the RPC estimated 2016/17 Freeport high school student enrollment compared to the current actual enrollment in grades 1 - 4 (grades 9 - 12 in 2016/17).  These numbers do not include kids in private K-4 programs or Pownal or Durham students.  Almost one third of our current students would have to drop out or leave with not a single student moving here to replace them for the RPC numbers to be close to reality.
  • The second chart shows Maine State Planning Office projections for total student enrollment in Freeport Public Schools compared with the RPC projected high-school enrollment.  You can see that there is a point where the RPC numbers drop unrealistically.  In the end, the RPC numbers are off by more than 90 students from the State’s lowest projection of Freeport high schoolers.  There must be an error in a calculation somewhere.

If you want to follow up on some of the numbers, the URL for the State Planning Office is included in the footnote of the PDF.

As always, please feel free to contact me directly or post to the list with comments or questions.

Click here to view the charts.

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Here is a link to the presentation from the Town Council public hearing last week: Click Here

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I know that we are all fed up with thinking, debating, and agonizing over school consolidation.  But please take a moment to consider this…

The school consolidation plan before us today is not good for any of our residents or our children. The intention of the law is cost savings, however, this plan yields no cost savings.  The consolidation plan clearly states that any administrative cost savings will be offset by the costs of leveling up salaries and creating the new bureaucracy to run the consolidated district. In fact, it will cost more to operate as a consolidated district than the way we do today.

The plan before us hinges on the assumption that 180+ students can be added to the High School with only a $4,000 budget increase per student. By doing this, you end up with an average budget of $8,300 per student at the High School. This represents a lower funding per pupil than any comparable school in Maine.  You can do the math yourself.  The average cost per pupil for schools similar to the proposed consolidated HS is above $10,000.

There are several alternatives to the current consolidation plan, such as consolidating under an equitable cost-sharing arrangement with full disclosure of anticipated increased costs.  Another option is the “Alternative Organization Structure” (maybe something like this) that allows towns to retain local flavor (e.g. choice, separate boards) and yet provides structured approach to unifying curriculum and maximizing cost savings.

At one of the last public meetings, members from the Pownal RPC threatened that if this plan was not approved by the Freeport voters, then Pownal might pull all of their children out of Freeport High School.  Please, let us try to come up with a plan that is fair and prudent.  The current plan, if adopted, will require a renegotiation of the cost sharing system after 3 years of an arbitrary fixed percentage based system.  Do you think it will be easier to conceive of and implement a balanced and enduring arrangement after we are irreversibly merged?  Let’s come up with a cost sharing arrangement before consolidating that is fair and prudent, and can withstand the test of time.

As working parents of three young children, schools that are both good and efficient are of highest importance.  The proposed scheme will both hurt our schools and raise taxes.  How is that good for anyone?  Please vote NO on school reorganization on November 4th.  We have better choices.

Sincerely,
Kim & Peter Murray

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Tonight [July 28, 2008], after brief comments and no debate, the Freeport School Committee voted to send the RPC proposed consolidation plan to the voters. The vote was:

Crean: YES
Gleason: YES
Leighton: YES
Martling: YES
Parker: YES

Munroe: NO
Morang: NO

Unfortunately, this action has ended the possibility of taking some time before the deadlines are looming to work with our partners to craft a better plan. From this point, the plan will go to the Commissioner for approval, then will be on the ballot vs. a penalty - likely in November.

Needless to say, I am disappointed with this outcome. Despite the fact that many questions and concerns continue to plague this plan, the School Committee has decided that the plan should be put forward - instead of investigating options and/or continuing to negotiate with our partners for more equitable terms.

-pete

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Last Thursday night, the Durham/Freeport/Pownal RPC met with the Freeport School Committee to discuss concerns about the RPC proposed consolidation plan.

Unfortunately, what should have been a productive meeting turned into a relentless browbeating session of the School Committee members who voted NO last time around. The Durham and Pownal RPC contingents made it abundantly clear that they didn’t care that Freeport has concerns with the plan - their stance was take it or leave it.

While I worry about costs and taxes like anyone else, my primary concern is that Freeport Schools continue the improving trend that has begun to attract families back into the system. That said, equitable and sustainable funding is an essential component of a robust school system. All the positive spin means nothing if communities are unwilling to back up the talk with financial commitment. RPC members from other towns would not provide straight answers on things like high school costs and our own school committee Chairman continues to talk about phantom tax savings for Freeport that do not exist. Thursday’s meeting made clear that Durham and Pownal are not willing to consider a consolidation plan in which they would pay their fair share of the costs. Absent a reasonable amount of funding support, the combined system will spiral into decay.

On a positive note, I’d like to extend a sincere Thank You again to our members who voted against sending the current plan to the voters. I think that their skepticism has been validated by the meeting Thursday night. Had the plan gone to a vote, Freeport would have lost what little leverage we have with our partners. Thanks to their leadership, Freeport has options.

• The Ball is in their Court: Pownal and Durham cannot submit a plan without Freeport. Their steadfast refusal to engage in a productive discussion at Thursday night’s workshop was mere bravado. Failure to submit a plan with Freeport subjects them to penalties from the State. While both towns may not want to pay their fair share, they need to come to the table constructively if only to avoid penalties. From the Department of Education: “There is nothing (Gendron) can do until there are three signatures on the plan. This won’t get them out of penalties.”
• Doughnut Hole: If Freeport’s proposed partners remain unwilling to bear their fair share of expenses, Freeport can look to seek an exemption from the law. The Commissioner has established a precedent for granting doughnut hole status to towns that cannot arrive at an equitable cost sharing plan. Freeport’s school district will continue to grow as more Durham students elect to come and as the school system continues to improve - Freeport will shortly exceed the 1200 student minimum size. From the Department of Education’s web site - “SAUs exercising due diligence with respect to consolidation but experiencing rejection by all other surrounding districts to be included in consolidation will not be penalized if their plan documents efforts to consolidate and the plan includes alternative ways of meeting efficiencies. These units must have at least 1,200 students.”
• Alternative Organization Structure (AOS): Freeport could pursue an AOS with one or both of our proposed partners. An AOS would provide a less structured collaboration that could achieve all potential cost efficiencies without surrendering control of Freeport’s schools or pursestrings. The negative comments of the Freeport School Committee Chair regarding an AOS at the Thursday workshop made no sense. The AOS requirements are quite flexible and loosely defined - Again, from the Department of Education - “Exactly how applicants will build an alternative organizational plan is not specified in the new law so creativity will be the order of the day and that creativity must be focused on student opportunity and achievement and the means to efficiently deliver services in a sustainable way.”

The July 8 vote was a turning point. Freeport stood up for itself against the steamroller of the State and the RPC. The Freeport School Committee will likely be asked to vote on the very same plan - unchanged - at yet another hastily scheduled School Committee meeting on Monday. Sending this plan to the voters will simply saddle us with a $300,000 penalty while letting Pownal and Durham off for free when they approve this unfair plan. Does anyone think that Pownal and Durham will negotiate anything once they are free of State penalties?

Let’s hope the school committee members see the wisdom of exploring the options before sending the plan on to Augusta. Let’s ask them to hold out for a fair plan and avoid that penalty. Please e-mail scmembers@coconetme.org - even just to say “Please hold the line and vote NO on the proposed consolidation.” The meeting is at the Town Council Chambers at 7:00PM on Monday, July 28.

Your input makes a difference - Thank you.

Sincerely,
–
-pete
peter m. murray
pete@pmurray.com

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Greetings Families:

First of all, once again, kudos to the three Freeport School Committee members who voted their consciences last Tuesday night. I’m sure it was a very difficult vote for them to take but it was the right thing to do for Freeport - and I believe for all of the towns. They have been strong-armed by the School Committee leadership to change their votes over the past week. Let’s hope they do not cave to the pressures of the “steamroller”. Help them stay strong by emailing your support to scmembers@coconetme.net !

Since the meeting last Tuesday, I’ve been pondering the question that ended the evening - Where do we go from here? I’m sure that the three responsible committee members are under some significant pressure to provide alternatives.

Attached are two different *draft* outlines of possible structures that could work for the three towns. In discussing different thoughts and ideas with other Freeport parents and citizens, these ideas were common threads. Both plans contain an outline of salient plan points and a discussion section at the end which fleshes out the “whys” of the plan structures.

ConsolidationPlanA (attached) outlines a full consolidation between the three towns. Above EPS spending is allocated between the towns on a per pupil basis. While there has been pushback from other towns on this point, it is important to note (as is expressed in the comments) - that no matter how you split up the above EPS amounts, Freeport will always pay a disproportionately high portion of the non-state funded costs. This is guaranteed because EPS, the bulk of the budget, is funded based on required local mils (in other words, by valuation).

There are some important points that are outside the scope of the plan, but have to do with how this kind of plan gets communicated to the public:

* All communities need to agree that educational excellence is the primary goal of this consolidation.
* The plan should be communicated to communities assuming no cost savings of any kind - it would jeopardize the future of educational funding to communicate this plan to the voters showing cost savings that don’t end up materializing in reality.
* The plan should be communicated with estimated costs for the initiatives in the education plan and model them phased in over 3-5 years.
* Capacity will continue to be an issue under this plan, but if everyone is willing to embrace the likelihood of a high-school expansion in their future tax bill - then great!

AlternativePlanA (attached) outlines an alternative plan that keeps the three school systems independent, but establishes a formal structure for cooperation and cost sharing. An important responsibility of this structure is to act in an advisory capacity into governance on issues pertaining to the high school. This plan allows the three towns to show the state cost savings (We should take credit for the cost savings already in place between Pownal and Freeport) and yet not force the towns to abandon their character and local control.

This plan is much easier to explain and understand. It leverages past experience between Freeport and Pownal and allows the towns flexibilities - while maximizing cost saving opportunities.

These two alternatives should be fully examined and understood by the RPC and the towns’ school committees before a final plan is submitted. Either one would resolve many issues causing thoughtful Freeport citizens concern in this consolidation process.

What do YOU think?

Cheers,

pete

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