Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

Our Views: New state money raises questions for schools

Should Portland use an additional $1.3 million to head off a tax hike, or to save jobs?

Portland Superintendent Jim Morse rolled out his much-anticipated austerity budget Wednesday night with a last-minute wrinkle.

The budget called for the elimination of 80 jobs through early retirements and layoffs and cuts to athletics, food service and maintenance programs.

The surprise was that hours before the meeting, Gov. Baldacci announced amendments to his budget that would restore $20 million of proposed cuts to schools, meaning that Portland could lose about $1.3 million less than Morse had anticipated.

Depending on how they choose to use it, the School Committee could save roughly 20 jobs or wipe out most of a $1.7 million request for a tax increase that is part of Morse's plan. Ultimately, it will be up to the voters to decide when the budget goes out to referendum, but the job of going through the budget and determining if it strikes the right balance is the School Committee's.

As Morse pointed out Wednesday, Portland is Maine's biggest school system and has a set of assets and challenges that make it unlike any other in the state. About half of its students come from poor families. Just under one-third are learning English.

And while it has an average level of participation in the special education program, an outside consultant reported last month that the program was overstaffed, which means that the city was spending too much and getting too little in return.

But the district also benefits from its size, offering choices for families, including four high school programs, that are not offered in any other school district.

The School Committee should have some hard questions: Does Morse's proposed central office shake-up, which results in the loss of just one administrative position, go far enough? Are the findings of the special education study credible, and if they are, has the superintendent responded to them adequately?

And finally, does the proposal to cut 80 jobs, including 44 teachers, 22 educational technicians and other support staff, go too far? Will the city spend years trying to rebuild a damaged school system if these cuts are carried out?

There is still a lot of work to be done on this budget, and where money is spent should get as much attention as how much will be cut.