Recent decisions by the MSAD 51 school board raise a simple question: What, exactly, is being rewarded?

At its latest meeting, the board approved raises for administrators while educational technicians and support staff remain without a contract after months of negotiations. These same staff members are already paid less than their peers in neighboring districts — a gap that has led to turnover, staffing shortages, and growing strain inside classrooms.

Educational technicians and school secretaries are not abstract roles. They work directly with students every day. They manage behavioral challenges, support learning needs, and keep classrooms functioning when things don’t go as planned. They are the people holding the system together in real time.

Administration, by comparison, is largely insulated from that daily instability. That distance makes it easier to maintain the perception that everything is working — even when frontline staff are stretched thin.

The board often speaks about long-term sustainability. But sustainability is built by retaining experienced people, not by allowing them to fall behind while investing elsewhere. Facilities matter, but they do not educate children. People do.

Right now, administration is being rewarded for maintaining the appearance of stability, while the people absorbing the real instability are being asked to wait — and that imbalance will not stay hidden.

Patrick Loring
Cumberland Center