School started Tuesday in many communities across Maine, amid staff shortages, budget cuts and other challenges.
In Jackman, budget cuts forced the reduction in the number of teachers from 16 to 12. Some teachers are educating students on two different subjects, one in their area of training and one that isn’t.
Andrew McKendry is a math teacher in the district and said this year he will also have to teach language arts, which he said is not his specialty.
“I hope that people truly understand the stress that it is causing right now and will cause through the year,” he said. “And then subsequently, next year at budget time. Really, I want them to have a clear thought and picture of ‘What do you want this place to look like going forward.’”
McKendry said the community is losing families with children and residents are pushing back on school budgets.
Steve Bailey, executive director of the Maine School Management Association, said that teaching more subjects adds extra pressure on teachers.
“They’ll be having to seek emergency certifications because they’ll be teaching out of their preparation area,” he said. “I’m sure the teachers are interested in keeping schools open and they’re offering services to students, but it’s not going to be their first or favorite preparation.”
Bailey said many communities just cannot keep up with increasing school budgets amid rising county taxes and other challenges. He said the Essential Programs and Services, or EPS, funding formula that determines how education funds are raised and distributed, is being reviewed and could be revised next year to better serve the needs of school districts.
“There have been changes in what the needs of students are, so we are helping that gets reviewed and changed so that it meets the needs of students,” Bailey said.
In Belfast, the superintendent of schools said that he just isn’t getting enough applicants for vacant teaching positions and is competing with other districts in a shrinking pool of educators.
And RSU 16, which serves Poland, Mechanic Falls and Minot, is one of several districts still struggling to pass a school budget for the coming year.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
