Portland Delegation Hits the Ground Running
December 16, 2008 -
I have been meeting the incoming 124th members regularly since the November 4th’s election. With the elections over, it has been wonderful to have time before the Legislature starts on January 7th, to get to know the other nine member so of the Portland Delegation who are:
- District 113: Joan Cohen
- District 114: Peter Stuckey
- District 115: Steven Lovejoy
- District 116: Charlie Harlow
- District 117: Anne Haskell
- District 118: Jon Hinck
- District 119: Herb Adams
- District 120: Diane Russell
- Senate District 9: Joe Brannigan
Our first meeting brought the members of 123rd Legislature (Senator Ethan Strimling, Speaker Glenn Cummings, Representative Anne Rand, Representative John Brautigam and Representative Boyd Marley) with the incoming members to discuss ways in which the Portland Delegation can work better with our regional partners, with our city leaders, including discussions of school curtailment for Portland’s public schools. Interim Superintendent Jeanne Wynot-Vikers and the Chair of the School Committee Peter Eglinton shared their concerns about the curtailment.
Our next meeting was a combined meeting with the Portland State Delegation and the Portland School Committee. Discussions centered around the challenges the Portland School Committee is facing with a $1,800,000 curtailment. and the The School Committee shared some of the options, including cuts and outlined questions the State Delegation should ask.
At our third meeting, the Portland Delegation met with Jim Dryer from the Maine State Department of Education. Jim walked us through the difference between the Essential Program and Services (EPS) and LD 1, the state’s funding law. Essentially, the 2003 EPS statute defines the cost of education for all 290 school units in Maine. In 2004, LD 1, passed by referendum, requires the State Government to pay for 55% of our public school costs. Jim then walked us through the effects of the curtailment on our state distribution.
Finally, the Portland Delegation met with State Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, Speaker Hannah Pingree and Commissioner of Education Susan Gendron. The delegation learned about the intricacies of the curtailment, details coming up in the supplemental and the forecast for the next biannual budget.
One thing is clear; my colleagues and I in the 124th Legislature have our work cut out for us. But, as Senate of the Education & Cultural Affairs Committee, I am eager to serve and determine a solution best suited for all Mainers.
