School budgets, particularly during times of financial stress, challenge a community to balance competing interests and values. Apart from the facts and numbers involved the character of the discussion plays a huge role in determining the quality of the outcome. Understanding and respect for opposing views will always promote the sort of dialogue and problem solving which not only helps achieve the best short terms results, but also draws forth resources from within the community to meet shortfalls in materials, and helps frame a positive basis for future needs.
To help gain some perspective on the current budget vote I tossed a few questions at Wilton resident Karol Maybury, the founder of a local group whose mission statement is also its title, Support Our Schools .
Kenny: First of all Karol tell us a bit about Support our Schools.
Karol: Last summer, around budget vote time, I was talking with friends and colleagues and neighbors and discovered many of us were very concerned about the budget passing. We were all having almost identical kitchen table conversations about saving programs like academics, music, library, and sports. I wondered if we could successfully establish an online space to connect the parents, teachers, students, alums, and citizens committed to adequate funding of Mt. Blue schools. I made a Facebook page, invited friends and neighbors, and we grew to 50 people by the end of the day. The next morning I opened my computer and there were 160. A few hours later there were 300. By the end of the week we were at 500 and now there are almost 700 members of our online community. It’s grown beyond a pure focus on the budget to share cool goings-on, music performance videos, and accolades received by the Mt. Blue School District. And we repost from other sites like the Mt. Blue Campus site. Members also post funny cartoons and stuff about teaching and school.
Kenny: How does the well being of our schools relate to the well being of our community?
Karol: I believe that “so go the schools, so go the communities.” Strong communities need strong schools. It is the key to each individual child’s future. It’s the key to advancement of our community. My parents always told me that education is a huge equalizing force for a community. Plus these are the kids that are going to be our community’s future leaders: business people, entrepreneurs, doctors, and teachers. It benefits us all to have a strong educational base in our community. Good schools also protect property values, research shows.
Kenny: The necessity of a smaller school budget in a time of constricted financial resources obviously means that the budget itself can provide fewer physical resources, for example in the proposed budget school library book accounts have been reduced by half. The concept of community presupposes that we are all stakeholders in a common enterprise. Do you see the community having a role as a supplementary resource?
Karol: The budget cuts to the library really sting. You think of all of the times a book is read and re-read by different students. This will take a community-wide effort, like we’ve seen with Support Our Schools and the advocacy for an adequate school budget. A short-fall like this can be an opportunity for a small, but strong community like ours. I’m sure we can pool our efforts to supplement the proposed cuts to our school libraries by community partnerships. I’m confident that we can, and will, with the help of our community members and supportive businesses like yours, find a way to meet our students’ reading needs.
Kenny: Mary Wortley Montagu once commented that “Civility costs nothing, and buys everything.” On the other hand Samuel Johnson remarked that “When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency.” What role do you think civility has in the budget process?
Karol: It is critical, when we disagree on something as a community, to stay constructive and to not disparage the other side. As we’re sharing our perspectives and priorities, I believe we should strive to share our experiences and our beliefs (whether pro- or con- the school budget) in a constructive way.
We see such “demonizing of the other” at the national level, unfortunately, all the time. That doesn’t make it right. When we disparage another person’s position through uncivil words, or feel that our group’s perspective is the only one that matters and so we should be the only ones who have a voice, something has gone awry. Mainers are plain-spoken and civil folks, and we need to remember that these are our neighbors.
We can come to meetings, or comment in on online forum and heartily disagree, but we should step back if we start to become so impassioned that we forget that there is another human being that we’re addressing. We need to listen to the teacher who talks about having to feed her students, and listen to the senior who is concerned they’ll need to go back to work in order to pay their bills. We should come together as a community, respect each others’ experiences and opinions, not delve into personal attacks. Strive to be above-board in our dealings, play by the meeting rules, and ultimately, when it comes down to it, vote our conscience. It isn’t easy! I think your quotes should be read before meetings and online forums.
I will say that there are some teens (students) and recent alums on our page (and kids come to the budget meetings like we had last week). The youngsters are really attuned to how adults behave when we disagree. As my Mom always says, you can disagree without being disagreeable. Recently, when a person posted something disparaging (and was removed) a recent Mt. Blue grad came to the defense of her teachers and itemized the high quality education she received throughout her 12 years as a Mt. Blue student and how her Mt. Blue education is impacting her to this day. It was a beautifully articulated, civil response to incivility and unfounded attacks. I was so proud that she deftly defended others and expressed her beliefs so humanely. It was an ethics lesson in action! On the page we try to be an oasis of good dialogue and how to disagree or share opinions in an illuminating, not disparaging way. I sense people appreciate the tone as much as the camaraderie. We have only one ground rule: no attacking or disparaging of others on the page.
Kenny: If you could hand community members a single thought to carry with them as they prepare to cast a vote for or against the budget what would it be?
Karol: Strong communities need strong schools. A careful review of the budget shows how thoughtfully our school directors and administrators, led by the highly capable, devoted superintendent, Dr. Tom, thoughtfully prepared for the maximum impact of our tax dollars. We all benefit from investing in our kids’ education.
I am a guardian of an Autistic child that is in RSU 9. I have deep concerns about this budget. First of all, our children all need a good education. From the many people that I have spoken with about this budget, not a single one is against education. What is happening is that people are at the breaking point of being able to afford their taxes because over 1/2 of their tax bill goes to the school district. As we all know, in any large entity, there is substantial waste. This can be curbed if everyone involved in the budget process would be completely honest about the “wants and needs ” of the school and only provide for the needs. I felt guilty when I realized that a second bus run was required to pick up the special needs kids. I felt that it should be my responsibility to get him to and from school. Then when I realized that the shuttle bus runs every day to bring kids home from after school activities, I no longer felt guilty. Another thing I have noticed is that when budgets need to be cut, one of the first things to be attacked is the special education. These kids need all the help they can get early in life so as to make them easier to deal with as adults. So if cuts need to be made, which I feel strongly that they do, lets look at the shuttle bus, sports equipment, and transportation to and from sports events, huge salary increases, etc. I really wish that we as a society could afford to spend more on education but the reality of it is that people can no longer afford these increases. I was on the board of selectmen in Chesterville for two years and I have seen that the number of people behind on taxes has increased significantly in the past few years. This problem is real, it is not being made up just to get out of paying taxes. Sorry that I have rambled on, but I am really concerned about education and when the pot of money is empty, we will no longer have to worry about educating our kids.
Well done Karol and Kenny. Thank you.
It would be very interesting to see how many Mt Blue students are dissatisfied with their experiences at school compared to those who think they are ready for the next step. Do you really believe that a capable and competent administration would cut library books from a free democratic society where the library remains a symbol of freedom? Have you spent the time studying this budget to find monies that could be eliminated without diminishing the students’ acquiring proficiency in the basics? A pretty interesting commentary, but please get outside of your little circle and see how the rest of the world operates!
I have a question for the members the Support our Schools group. Do you actually think that the taxpayers who are fighting to lower the school budget are trying to hurt our teachers or children??? We are not. We support our
Teachers and children!!!! But we do not support the never ending pay raises for the administration staff. And we
Do not support the no bid contracts in maintenance that are signed year after year. Our sdministrators make the
Same money as those in the much larger schools in southern Maine. The median family incomes in those areas
Are double the median income in this area. The taxpayers in this area can not support these year after year
Million dollar increases. The school board and superintendent make the budget!!! They make the cuts!!!! It is
Their cuts to the library or teacher supplies or cuts in staffing for custodial services or whatever. I suggest the
Support our schools people fight for some cuts in areas like administration and maintenance and transportation.
That is what I am fighting to cut. That is what the taxpayers I know are fighting to cut. We love and support our
Teachers. I spoke at the June 1 meeting and I listened to the other folks who want to cut the budget. Not one
Person made a disparaging remark about the teachers. I have been very outspoken about this budget. I looked
At the spending in maintenance and administration and made alot of phone calls. I spoke with professionals in
The Maine Department of education and the Maine Dept of Environmental Protection. Our school system has
Budgeted many tens of thousands of dollars for inspections and maintenance that is not required or needed at
Our two newest schools. And the administration is passing out their 3rd year of huge pay raises to all areas of
Admin. The taxpayers want this to stop now!!!!!
We already got this year’s tax bill in our town and 54% of everyone’s property tax is going to support RSU 9. For this household, that’s over $1200 to the school. That’s a lot of money for one household to be paying to support the local school year after year.
Buckshot, please avoid argumentum ad hominem (insults, arguments against people). To hint that because of cuts (demanded by many in the community) to libraries the administration might not be competent is really unnecessary. If people demand smaller budgets, they should expect cuts. One can disagree about what without insulting the comptence of others. Also the idea that those who think differently are in a “little circle” and don’t know how the “rest of the world operates” looks like an arrogant statement (though I suspect you didn’t intend it as such). I think most people, no matter what their job, have had to deal with budget, life problems, and real world issues on many facets of life. To caricature people on either side of the issue is unfair – we’re all good honest citizens who want what’s best, and have some disagreements on how to achieve it. I personally do not doubt the good will of the school board and administration in trying to grapple with these issues, nor do I doubt the legitimate concern of those who feel the budget is too high. What I object to is people on either side denigrating or insulting the people on the other side. We’re stronger if we listen to and respect each other – listen to understand, not just to provide a counter argument. Not good guys vs. bad guys, just a bunch of good people needing to work through a community issue.
My comment is in response to the school library budget being cut. This sounds like a great opportunity for students to utilize the Farmington Public Library which never seems to have a problem having their budget wishes fulfilled. Mallett is a very close walk to the public library. That and other opportunities to benefit both entities surely exist if one is willing to look.
If you never have told your own kids NO, in my opinion they will grow up to be spoiled. You can only buy what you have money for. The Town of Jay has just received a 142 million dollar tax decrease from VERSO. Now all the towns in Franklin County have to make that up. Money does not buy quality education. Quality people make quality education. If anyone does not like what we have to offer then I would invite them to move on. Don’t kid yourself, there are plenty of people who would like to have your job.
tax decrease should say devaluation.
One has to wonder why home schooled students do so well without the attending the “high tech” public school system. In theory, their resources fall far short of the “must haves” that the school board says are required for a quality education.
A. Dulles, nailed it!
Support our schools with sensible spending is what some are saying. When those in position refuse time after time to ignore requests to reduce spending in areas that have NO direct effect on the students’ education I call it insulting. When monies are cut whereby programs, books, classes, personnel, etc. are eliminated and transportation, maintenance, adult ed., and large administrative raises are left intact, I feel and think that something is amiss. Maybe, my choice of reasons why this is done are wrong. If so, I apologize and ask for someone to explain why! After you have served on the “board” for a year you may have a change of heart, and it will be interesting to see how you perform and react to people who are supposed to be working for you and not vice versa. Anyway, my best to you, Mr. Erb and maybe you’ll be able to make some changes, although I won’t be holding my breath!
The board is not unanimously for the budget. Thank you to the ones that understand high taxes.
A poor community, can not support the rich.
Education starts with compassionate teaching and learning.
THANK YOU FOR THOSE THAT HAVE THAT.
No, thanks to those that pad their pockets.
A Dulles – I think even with very low spending we could have excellent outcomes if every parent were to spend considerable time with their children as home school parents do. Alas, that doesn’t happen – parents too often don’t augment and connect with their kids on important matters of education (I’ve heard of homes that don’t even have books, with parents who don’t ever read) and thus it falls on the school to give these kids – usually those from struggling families – an opportunity for a better future. One could say well, if the parents don’t care, then their kids don’t deserve a good future. But I don’t believe kids should suffer for the misdeeds of the parents, and I think that the community is improved when we have a well educated citizenry. Bucksport – do you think there are significant savings to be made in transportation, maintenance (from my experience maintenance for businesses or public institutions is a necessary expenditure), adult ed or salaries? From a cursory look at the budget, I don’t see it – but I’m sure next year I can dig into it more. I got a note from the school that due to budget cuts my son’s fifth grade class will be larger, 24 kids. I don’t worry so much about my son – I do spend time with him – but for the kids who are struggling the lack of attention can make a difference. From what I’ve gathered, I don’t think too many people are lining their pockets; indeed, school teachers and administrators are probably earning less than they could have in the private sector, but choose to devote their careers to education and our young people. I wouldn’t want to push young people away from the profession because the pay prospects looks too bleak. All that said, I think we all need to keep an open mind, I’m convinced most people on each side are good people wanting what’s best.
In response to Call Me a Cynic’s suggestion:
I’m pretty sure it’s true that only teachers and students who are Farmington residents can take books out of the Farmington library. Other families can obtain privileges, but it costs $25/year. As the children who go to Mallett come from other towns as well, only certain students would be eligible to borrow books if the class as a whole went over, and teachers not living in Farmington would also not be able to take anything out.
There are children’s books at Mantor Library (at UMF), but one has to be at least 12 to obtain a courtesy card to take them out.