Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club

Tue, 12/11/2018 - 12:30pm

Amy Ronan was acknowledged for her commitment to Rotary and all were thankful for her investments. Past President Tony Curulla expressed our appreciation for her.

Rotary’s investment in the future of our schools was evident when Rotary’s meeting with Superintendent Dr. Keith Laser ran past our usual closure time. Vibrant discussions continued after the meeting ended.

Dr Laser thanked Rotary for the support that it has given the school system over the years. “Get within a mile of the elementary school and you can hear the excited squeals of joy from our young children, running, jumping and climbing on their new playset. That is a fun and long overdue addition to our Boothbay Harbor campus.

Thanks too for making our vocational students, either in or considering attending vocational programs, feel special at your meeting in November. The members who presented details on the richness of their lives because of their acquired skills as tradesmen, I found inspirational, and I’m sure the students did too. As we heard, and read about almost daily in the Maine newspapers, there are incredible opportunities open for those who want to work with their hands in the many trades that we are sorely in need of young people to embrace.”

Dr Laser has a minimum of six school board meetings every month to attend. Each has their own unique schools and situations, making it a challenge with 15 different bosses.

He described the circumstances of the high school, built in the early mid-50s and the elementary school in the ’70s. Both buildings are roughly 90,000 square feet. The elementary school has seen as many as 600 students and folks remember when the high school had 300. Amazingly, the high school was built for only $500,000. Recently, the trustees were presented an estimate of $4 million to upgrade merely the elementary school’s heating system.

Both schools have served the community well over the years. There is a long list of distinguished and successful graduates who participated in the Grand March and probably remembered who they walked with. He described a simpler system than that of today’s required demands on educators. “Our teachers taught what we thought we needed without state mandates directing them.”

Around 1955, the communities of Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor, working together, instituted a Charter which still governs much of what we do and how we govern, with little change over the years. A committee from both towns recognize it needs to be changed or eliminated.

“Today we have 185 students in the high school and 300 in grades PreK-8. That number is going down every year. We still offer courses in math, science, English, PE and foreign language. The vocational education component has morphed into what we call STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). That really hasn’t changed much from the 1880s to meet the needs of the industrial revolution. Much of the impetus to move from the old system to the new system of proficiency is because the old system in not meeting the needs of society in the age we are now in. Currently, roughly 60 percent of our graduates attend college and the other 40 percent enter the workforce by engaging in a trade, the military or are undecided.”

“Our schools are blessed to have professional and committed teachers who are underpaid; there is a shortage of young men and women entering the vocation.” Dr Laser said that he is “happy to see the governor elect, as part of her campaign platform, propose a starting salary of $40,000 for teachers.”

“Our budget this year is a bit shy of $10 million. State and local community taxpayers are paying, on the average, over $20,000 a year for each child in the CSD school system. Roughly 25 percent of our kids receive some form of special education services - 112 kids. That number keeps going up every year and it is expensive. Special education can cost $40,000-$ 60,000 and even higher depending on the needs of the child. This is one of the big things we are struggling with now and there is no easy answer.”

Dr Laser reports that there is a plethora of great learning going on. “Our athletes are enjoying incredible successes on the fields and courts. In our classrooms, superb teachers are teaching not only the three R’s, but also coding, technology integration, advanced placement courses and a myriad of other superb initiatives in the two schools. Declining enrollment across the state and definitely in our school community, the steadily increasing cost of maintaining our aging buildings and trying incrementally to bring them into the 21st century, technology costs (Laptops and infrastructure costs) safety concerns as a result of gun violence and kids with severe psychological challenges, increasing staff costs (roughly 80 percent of the budget is for salaries and benefits). Family health benefits are going up 5-10 percent a year. A family health plan costs close to $25,000. Fuel, transportation ($100,000 for a new bus). Additionally, there is a serious decline in the number of young men and women entering the teaching profession. The costs of special education will continue to climb and the legal challenges escalate.”

Rotarians’ questions centered on whether we appreciate and will address the challenges we face in public education and in particular here in our two schools. There was recognition that if we take our public schools out of Boothbay, it will have a serious effect on the future of our community. We won’t attract young families who will be here to do all the work around town that working age citizens routinely fill. Laser reflected a recent presentation that 1,700 cars daily come south on the peninsula bringing folks to work here. Just built in Bath is a new $75 million high school with state of the art vocational resources and superb athletic facilities.

Dr. Laser suggested that the community wants to answer the questions “Do we spend money on modernizing our high school and infrastructure to keep kids here? Should we build a new K-12 school ?

He reflected some choices for the community to consider:

Build a new school. The cost of a new school: In today’s dollars, $45 million or $4 million a year for a long-term loan.

Close the high school and invest in keeping the elementary school viable and in good repair.

Dr Laser believes that this can be an exciting time for the community with enormous opportunities. “The peninsula is an incredibly desirable place to live and raise a family. We have an excellent staff in our schools that we can leverage to continue to prepare our students for success in the 21st century. We have adults in the community who care and want the best for the children’s futures. We can do it. But first we need to understand the challenges, then work together to overcome them.”

Upcoming

Dec. 13: Florence Rosenberg tells what was it like to be a child in World War II with her father who was involved in the “Organisation civile et militaire” (OCM Resistance group) soon after France’s crushing defeat in May 1940.

Dec. 15: You are invited by Monica, Annette, Linda F, and Brenda B. for some holiday cheer and a chance to do something for the community in Elise’s memory from 4 to 7 p.m. - a silent auction and holiday get-together in memory and celebration of our dear friend Elise Roberts. Bring an appetizer to share if you can. Proceeds go to local charities.

Dec. 17: The traditional Christmas Party at our club. A great time to see what fun it is to be a Rotarian!