Geographic isolation, pre-existing savings, and new or about-to-be renovated school buildings defined how three Penobscot Bay island schools responded to the state’s requirement for cutting education costs to taxpayers.
Responding to state calls for school district consolidation to save money, island superintendents prepared plans to show cost cutting or containment measures in administration, transportation, facilities and special education.
Island superintendents including George Joseph of Vinalhaven, Tom Marx of North Haven and Michael Wright of Islesboro, met with Susan Gendron, commissioner of the Maine Department of Education, and state Rep. Hannah Pingree (D-North Haven) where they learned that they were exempt from the minimum district size requirements but would still have to reduce costs.
All the islands had already reduced administrative costs. Islesboro recombined the superintendent and principal’s position in June 2007 when superintendent Donald Kanicki resigned. Principal Michael Wright now has additional part-time superintendent duties. On North Haven, superintendent Tom Marx works two days a week, down from three days worked by his predecessor seven years ago. Fewer than two days is insufficient to take care of the state required paperwork even with a bookkeeper assistant, he noted, and with construction of North Haven’s new school, he is on island four days a week to oversee that project. Vinalhaven cut administrative costs a few years ago by replacing the principal with a “school leader.”
Transportation costs on North Haven will drop slightly when students can use the new school’s gymnasium instead of being bused two miles to a separate facility. Both Vinalhaven and North Haven share bus maintenance costs with Rockland, and substitute buses and drivers come to the island as needed. Joseph noted that the Vinalhaven school can easily spend a couple of thousand dollars on one weekend to transport and house students for away basketball games. “But you want the students to be able to participate in sports,” he said.
Islesboro’s Wright learned coordinating bus transportation with a mainland district would result in increased costs. State mandated inspections by specially licensed mechanics, however, are done by an Islesboro based business.
Building maintenance costs have proved hard to contain in the face of volatile fuel prices. Tom Marx noted that while North Haven’s new school will be more efficient, it is also larger. There will be savings on electricity but the building will take longer to clean. Vinalhaven’s George noted that geographic isolation causes unavoidable extra expense. Maintenance of fire alarm systems, for example, requires off-island service businesses at a higher cost than mainland schools spend on the same service. Islesboro’s building (WWF Feb. 2008) faces major repair and renovations but for now routine caulking, programmable thermostats, storm windows and boiler maintenance have kept fuel costs from rising as much as they would have without those measures, according to Wright.
Special education is another highly variable category. All the superintendents noted that, as Marx observed, “It is outside of our control. Maine’s average of about 19 percent of the student population receiving special education is three or four percent higher than the national average. That is why we are supposed to look more carefully the programs.” In small school populations one or two students requiring help have a big impact.
George said he has to bring some help from off-island to meet needs such as speech therapy. “I fly them in when I can because of the cost of paying them for the long ferry ride.”
Island schools do collaborate with cost-sharing on a handful of programs such as a testing system from North West Evaluation Association, and the Community for Rural Education, Stewardship and Technology (CREST), the three-year, $1.2 million grant to the Island Institute from the National Science Foundation. On North Haven, the Rockland Public Library provides the licensed librarian for legal supervision of the library.
All the superintendents expressed frustration at the small savings they could make. Joseph noted, “If there are any savings at all we take them. If I can keep my budget at a five percent increase instead of six, I’ll do it.”