Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: An Approach for MaineHow to adequately fund small schools is becoming a pressing issue in Maine due to numerous factors, including state and federal accountability laws and declining enrollments.The Maine Planning office projects a decrease of 12.5% in school-age enrollment throughout the state between October 1, 2004 and October 1, 2013.Four Maine counties are predicted to experience declines in resident enrollment of over 20%.(Maine Department of Education, 2004).Moreover, small schools are expected to be among the hardest hit by enrollment losses.Schools with fewer than 300 students are expected to average approximately a 20% drop in enrollment.Among the changes on the horizon in Maine in addition to declining enrollments are additional state requirements pertaining to Maine's Learning Results, and new Federal accountability requirements due the No Child Left Behind law.Along with high per-pupil costs, small schools in rural areas are often challenged in ways that may impact their ability to operate efficiently while meeting the state and federal accountability requirements.Mathis (2003) summarized the discussions of a meeting of both education finance scholars and personnel of the Rural and School and Community Trust.The following were among the challenges facing small rural schools cited at the meeting: a) attracting and retaining qualified teachers, b) attracting and retaining qualified specialty teachers such as music teachers, nurses, science teachers, special education personnel, c) less visible but increased proportions of students living in poverty, d) availability of trained special education staff for severe, lowincidence disabilities, and e) cost of living adjustments that further exacerbate the problem of attracting and retaining high quality teachers.Determining the extent to which these and other potential issues exist in Maine and identifying potential solutions are crucial.Among potential solutions that have been major topics of discussion in Maine are the use of technology and distance education opportunities, participation in regional efforts, and
Authors: Debra Allen, James E. Sloan
Language: English
Topic: Education in Rural Contexts
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W346874301