Maine
4-24-09
Education problems in Delaware? Really, education is in trouble all over the nation. Take Maine. Reading the paper there on my spring break visit, anyone could see that the issues are the same: lack of funding, decisions about who to lay off, how to shrink budgets, which programs stay and which ones go. Due to the nature of the funding of schools, they are vulnerable to the influences of the local and state economies.
Lakes Region Weekly, a western Maine newspaper, reported last week that four teachers were added back to the budget by the Windham-Raymond School Board. They had cut the music program at the middle school, and the life skills and industrial technology positions at the high school and then reinstated them based on the sentiments of the public. Also, more teachers were added back to the budget to handle large class sizes at the elementary schools. Classes would then go back to being manageable and some learning would take place. This included a push to fund full day kindergarten.
The project that didn’t make it into the budget? A laptop program at the high school level which in part would depend on stimulus package funds. What are they doing to increase revenue? A new activity fee at $25 per sport and a $10 extracurricular activity fee at the high school and middle school. Tough times call for tough decisions.
In the past when the idea of activity fees has surfaced, the Cape Henlopen School Board has been reluctant to act on it because it may not allow some students access to participate if they lack the funds. But high school students in this area have access to jobs in the summer and a fee of $25 is reasonable. Two movie tickets and some popcorn!
In Falmouth, Maine, a music teacher asked for funding to begin a steel drum band. Jim Horwich, the Falmouth music director, sought $10,000 to start a new program that involved the use of steel drums, a fun class for students, according to The Northern Forecaster. So if you have a new and innovative idea, where do you go to get the funding you need? Horwich tapped the Falmouth Education Foundation and they delivered, happily! Students think that the steel drums are extremely cool. Percussion and melody all rolled into one. A mystical, musical instrument that has humble beginnings and a very happy ending at this school.
Cape now has a foundation that funds projects and programs. Perhaps the best thing to come out of this foundation is a renewal of a commitment to the children because without the extra effort, many worthy programs would slide off the table. We are seeing this happen in Maine and in the Cape region. Picking up the slack is one thing that we can do to help maintain and enhance programs for students. While class size and teaching units must be determined by the local and state funding there is much good work that goes on behind the scenes to make schools viable for students.
