District 8 Legislative Update - July 29th, 2009
July 29, 2009 -
Hi everyone,
It's officially summer -- the humidity is here and the sun feels great! I have a lot to report since my last email, so I hope you enjoy the updates.
Emerging Leadership Political Conference
In my last email, I announced that I was heading to the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business for a conference on leadership, ethics, and ideas. We had to read four books to prepare, and I'm sharing them because they certainly hit on some great issues. Click here to see them.
Here is some of what I took away from the conference:
1. How we frame the discussion could be more important than the decision that we make. I am excited to keep working on this skill so that I can keep Portland voters involved in the decisions that affect you!
2. Great leaders never become too comfortable in their roles. Leadership is a privilege, and you can quickly become insignificant or part of the problem instead of the solution.
3. If you want to see your priorities as a leader, just look at your calendar. Your calendar truly illustrates what matters most to you!
4. We all can become button-pushers and follow the lead, but leaders are responsible for every decision. You must have the courage to stand up for what you believe is right for your community, even if it means going against your party!
After attending this conference, and watching the national debate on health care reform, I've been considering more and more what the capacity of government is. I leave you with this question: Can government solve complex problems in a democracy?
State Appropriations - University of Maine System Restructuring Plan and Department of Education Looks for Efficiencies
Last week, I spent the good part of Wednesday and Thursday in Augusta listening to educational pieces of the Appropriations Committee. On Wednesday, I listened to the University of Maine System (Chancellor Pattenaude and Board President Joe Wishcamper) talk about their New Challenges, New Directions Report. The University of Maine System has an approximate $100 million deficit over the next four years and are refocusing the system.
Things that I found interesting where:
* UMS knows that it must change how the system is organized in order to better serve Maine and its organizations.
* UMS understands that it has done a poor job managing its schools. The UM schools do not have concrete missions, standards and priorities.
* UMS recognizes that linking its schools' priorities to the state workforce priorities is an absolute value they must achieve.
On Thursday, I was back listening to the Appropriations Committee begin their task of identifying $30 million in savings for the year 2011.
The Department of Education is 46% of the state budget (K-12 and higher education); Commissioner Gendron reviewed the 2009 McKinsey & Company Report "Maine Delivering Efficient Government." The Appropriations Committee spent a lot of time focusing on cost, variation and identification of special education students in our schools. Special Education costs run $300 million per year (this is out of an approximately $1.33 billion education budget). Additionally, the Commissioner shared ways of finding efficiencies by changing the funding formula, promoting regional collaboratives and encouraging purchase portals for districts. More to come on this later.
Recovery Act Update: How the Stimulus Package is Helping Maine
Since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February of this year, many have asked how much the State of Maine has received and what has been done with that funding. As of July 8th, more than $242 million in Recovery Act funding has been dispersed through the State. Although the majority of this funding has gone to support Medicaid due to the March shortfall, several other state government departments have seen much of the Recovery Act funding.
Closing
My next email blast will report back from Maine's 1st Dropout Prevention Conference from the University of Maine. Hope all is well, and please contact me any time; see you around town!
-Justin
