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Panel endorses pick for education commissioner

Some Democrats object, but Stephen Bowen's nomination goes to the Senate.

By Tom Bell tbell@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA — A legislative panel voted 9-5 Wednesday to endorse Stephen Bowen as Maine's next education commissioner.

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Stephen Bowen, Gov. LePage's nominee for education commissioner, testifies before the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

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Stephen Bowen

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While Democrats on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee questioned Bowen's lack of management experience, supporters described him as a visionary leader and an analytical thinker who is committed to reforming Maine's education system.

Bowen, 41, is an advisor to Gov. Paul LePage and was an analyst for the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a conservative think tank.

He said most states have moved ahead of Maine in embracing education reform, and he wants to bring fundamental change to the state's schools.

"I don't want the job if it's just keeping the lights on up there. We have got to move," he told the panel during a hearing that lasted more than five hours.

Rep. Richard Wagner of Lewiston was the only Democrat on the committee to endorse Bowen's nomination.

Maine's education commissioners are typically former superintendents who have many years of experience managing staffs and budgets. Bowen has taught middle school, served in the Legislature for two terms and worked as a policy analyst.

Bowen lacks the management experience that's needed for the job, said Sen. Justin Alfond, D-Portland.

"There is nothing in his background that illustrates he has the leadership skills needed to pull off his very ambitious agenda," Alfond said in an interview after the vote.

If confirmed by the Senate, Bowen will head a department with a two-year budget of about $2 billion and more than 130 employees.

Bowen, who lives in Rockport, was a middle school social studies teacher in Camden from 2002 to 2007. He began his teaching career in 1997 in public schools in Virginia.

At the Maine Heritage Policy Center, where he worked for three years, Bowen was an outspoken critic of the Department of Education and wrote position papers advocating for greater school choice, charter schools, tying teachers' pay to students' academic performance and aggressive measures to fix underperforming schools.

Two former candidates for governor, independent Eliot Cutler and Republican Peter Mills, praised Bowen at Wednesday's hearing.

Cutler, who told the committee that the state's education system must be "turned upside down," said he probably would have selected Bowen for the post if he had been elected governor in November.

Bowen served in the Maine House of Representatives as a Republican from 2002 to 2006. Mills, who served with him, described him as a talented political leader who thinks in a "managerial way."

"He has an aptitude that transcends decades of experience," Mills said.

Bowen described himself as skilled at building relationships and consensus.

He said his priorities include lowering the dropout rate, improving the quality of teachers and administrators and preparing students for higher education.

He said the department lacks direction and must develop a comprehensive long-term plan. "What we've been doing, though, is lurching from one 'reform' to the next, without any real vision for where we want to go," he said.

He said the staff in the Department of Education appears to be overworked and that he may hire more high-level managers.

The Legislature will take up a bill in this session that would allow charter schools in Maine. Bowen said charter schools would help the state develop new models for education. He also said he would consider giving tax dollars to schools run by religious organizations.

Many Democrats and the Maine Education Association, the union that represents teachers, oppose charter schools because they fear they would draw funding away from public schools.

Bowen also said he is skeptical of using standardized tests to assess students' performance because teachers end up teaching to tests.

Bowen's nomination now moves to the Senate for a confirmation vote.

MaineToday Media State House Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 699-6261 or at:
tbell@mainetoday.com