By SUSAN M. COVER
Staff Writer Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Two members of the Maine Public Spending Research Group, a relatively new think tank dedicated to monitoring state spending, told members of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel editorial board that the governor's plan will save about $37 million in the first year.

That's significantly less than the $65 million first-year savings Baldacci and Education Commissioner Susan Gendron believe will be saved.

Over three years, Baldacci is projecting that the move to reduce the number of school districts from 290 to 26 will save the state and local government $241 million.

Those savings will start in 2009 and continue in 2010 and 2011.

David Flanagan, the group's president, said he fully supports what Baldacci and Gendron want to do. He is former chief executive officer of Central Maine Power Co. and a former independent candidate for governor

Part of his group's mission is to look at how Maine compares to other states. That's what Baldacci and Gendron have done in presenting this plan, Flanagan said.

"I have been just thrilled by the governor and Commissioner Gendron talking about comparing Maine's administrative personnel to national averages," he said. "You wouldn't have heard that five years ago."

Maine has an administrator for every 393 students, while the national average is one administrator for every 816 students.

In his two-year budget, Baldacci is proposing to significantly reduce the number of school districts and superintendents. Those reductions would result in 26 districts across the state, with regional school boards replacing the local boards that are now in place. "He's been pretty bold," said Michael Moore, executive director of the group. "It's hard to imagine that the governor we had four years ago is the governor who's doing this now. We're pleased to see that."

And while the plan is a bold step in the right direction, the group's analysis of the numbers doesn't match what's been promised in the second year of the state budget, said Moore, a former superintendent in the Gorham and York school systems.

Moore said the state is relying on savings in what are fixed costs, and doesn't believe the projections are realistic. His evaluation included the same areas used by the administration. "The value in doing it isn't in the 2008-2009 budget," Moore said. "The value is in the out years when you have these regional boards and they are making decisions about resource allocation." Jim Rier, director of finance and operations for the state Department of Education, said his first-year projections include: $41 million saved on system administration; $14 million saved in special education; $5.5 million saved in transportation; and $12 million saved in facilities maintenance.

Those numbers total $73 million, but the governor is also proposing to pay for a full-time principal at every school.

Once that cost is subtracted, the first year savings totals $65 million. "It isn't just about superintendents," Rier said. "It's about system administration and efficiencies."

Regardless of how the savings pan out, Flanagan and Moore believe the proposal is worthy of serious consideration. They believe their role is to provide numbers so decisions aren't made based on anecdotal evidence. "We're trying to move away from this culture of anecdote that you have in Maine," Moore said.

Susan Cover -- 623-1056

scover@centralmaine.com