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By SUSAN M. COVER
Staff Writer Sunday, June 10, 2007

So he filed Freedom of Access requests -- a tactic usually used by journalists and citizens -- to get detailed information from five groups who worked on the bill.

"The most disturbing thing to me is that taxpayer dollars were being used to lobby against a bill that would have cut superintendents, and their goal was to preserve superintendents," Martin said.

While it's not unusual for lobbyists to work in their own self-interest, the Eagle Lake Democrat said his frustration grew from their refusal to negotiate.

"It was just anti," he said. "And using taxpayer money to do it. In effect, legislators were being lobbied against a proposal to save people taxes, and money generated by taxes were being used to prevent legislators from voting to cut taxes."

The groups say they did nothing wrong in representing the interests of their members, and they did not spread misinformation about the proposal.

In the end, lawmakers voted overwhelmingly last week to approve the $6.3 billion, two-year budget, which includes a detailed plan to reduce the number of school districts from 290 to somewhere around 80.

The plan will mean a significant reduction in the number of superintendents, which now stands at 152. And it may also mean a very different role for local school boards, which will take on different duties with the creation of larger, regional school boards.

Dale Douglass, executive director of the Maine School Management Association, which lobbies on behalf of superintendents and school boards, said his groups did not mislead anyone.

"It's absolutely unfair and unjust to accuse us of distributing misleading information," he said.

And Mark Gray, executive director of the Maine Education Association, said Martin -- a lawmaker for more than 40 years and long-time House Speaker -- is throwing his weight around.

"It's a bullying tactic on the part of Sen. Martin, from my perspective," he said.

Martin requested the information from five groups: Maine School Management Association, Maine School Superintendent Association, Maine School Boards Association, Maine Education Association and Maine Municipal Association.

He's asking them to provide him with expenses related to the time spent on legal work, drafting of proposed amendments, and communications with their members, including mail, e-mail and phone calls.

Gray said the Maine Education Association will not comply with the request because it is a private membership organization and does not receive state or local taxpayer money. Teachers and other education support staff pay money to belong to the union.

He said Martin dashed off a press release without checking his facts because he disagreed with proposed changes to the plan.

Martin and other lawmakers said they got calls and e-mails from parents who were told their schools would be closed, that class sizes would balloon and teachers would be fired.

Understandably, parents called lawmakers in a panic, fearing their small children would be bused for miles, said Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee.

The problem was, closing schools was not part of the state's effort to cut administrative costs by consolidating districts and reducing the number of superintendents, she said.

"Never have I dealt with an issue at the Statehouse where there was more misinformation out in the public," she said.

Lawmakers who complained about what they see as an effort to distribute bad information said they don't begrudge lobbyists, who often play integral, and sometimes valuable, roles in helping to develop legislation. Heavy lobbying, particularly on tax and health-care issues, is part of the normal course of events at the Statehouse.

Douglass and others who worked on school district consolidation said their efforts were no different on this issue than on the dozens of other bills they work on every session.

Douglass said throughout the process, lobbyists representing the groups tried to provide guidance to lawmakers about how different proposals would affect local school boards and local superintendents. In the end, when lawmakers pass new laws, it's up to the people on the front lines to implement the ideas approved in Augusta, he said.

"We have to make sure what is passed is workable," he said. "We try to give advice about what works, as opposed to pure lobbying."

The Maine Municipal Association feels it has been unfairly lumped in with other groups who lobbied on the consolidation issue. MMA and the education association worked with many other interest groups last year to come up with their own plan for cutting school costs, said Michael Starn, MMA spokesman.

Their bill did not move forward, but some of the ideas were incorporated into the final product. Because MMA is supported by dues paid by member towns, they are required to comply with Martin's request, and they will, Starn said.

"It's almost inconceivable to me that Sen. Martin is questioning our intent in school consolidation when it has such an impact on every community in the state," Starn said.

He described the new law as "a monumental piece of legislation" that the MMA will work to explain to its members.

When it comes to Martin's concerns about taxpayer money spent on lobbying, Starn said many of the groups that lobby at the Statehouse represent governmental entities.

Appropriations Committee member Rep. Janet Mills, D-Farmington, said the lobbyists are working on behalf of the people they represent, and there's nothing unusual about that.

But she does see the irony in this situation.

"We are trying to save money by reducing administration, the use of tax money for administration, and those very administrators are using tax dollars to try to defeat the measure," she said.

Mills said tax bills usually draw the most lobbyists. This session, it was the school district consolidation bill.

In the end, the lobbyists made good suggestions along the way, but their efforts to derail the plan failed, she said.

"They doth protest too much," Mills said.

The Republican lead on the committee, Sen. Karl Turner, agreed, calling it "a classic F.U.D." -- a campaign to spread "fear, uncertainty and doubt."

"The school lobbies have been very active trying to pull it apart," he said. "The effort to derail it is more pervasive than anything I've seen in all my years."

Susan Cover -- 623-1056

scover@centralmaine.com

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