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Monday, April 1, 2002
Laptop debate far from over
Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||
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AUGUSTA — It took two years of wrangling to get this far. Now, Matthew Oliver hopes the political infighting is over and the state will fully implement Gov. Angus King's plan to equip middle-school students with laptop computers. "The program should go forward unimpeded," said Oliver, the superintendent of schools in Guilford-based SAD 4. He commented days after the Legislature passed a pared-down budget that spared a $25 million fund for the project. The program will kick into high gear this fall, when seventh-graders across the state get Apple iBooks. Oliver's strong feelings are understandable. The Piscataquis County Middle School in his district helped pioneer the use of laptops by middle schoolers as far back as 1999, even before King first proposed a statewide computer giveaway in 2000. But King's plan has been controversial from the outset, and the fact that the Legislature has resisted the temptation to gut it this year has not ended the controversy. In fact, key lawmakers say the Legislature may revisit the issue next year, when King, who leaves office in January, will not be around to defend it. "It's been a controversial issue and I have every reason to believe there will continue to be supporters and detractors," said House Majority Whip William Norbert, D-Portland. "We have members who really have strong objections to it, so I think it will be discussed again." The state has signed a four-year, $37.2 million contract with Apple Computer to provide more than 18,000 iBooks to seventh-graders and their teachers next school year and more than 17,000 iBooks to eighth-graders and their teachers in the 2003-2004 school year. Nine pilot schools across the state already have iBooks under a program that is laying the groundwork for the full startup. The contract has an escape clause in case the state withdraws funding, said Phil McCarthy, a legislative analyst who specializes in education issues. Such clauses are not unusual in state contracts because a state program created by one Legislature can be dismantled by a future Legislature. That could mean, for example, that if the state pulls out next year, the second phase of the program involving eighth-graders would never materialize. For now, though, the program looks secure, and King says he does not expect a change. The state and its students, especially those entering seventh grade in a few months, will have a lot invested in the program by the time the next governor and Legislature get down to business in January. Supporters say that should build support for expanding the program into the eighth grade, and possibly beyond. "I think it would be very difficult to pull back once the computers are in the schools," King said, because students, teachers, parents and school boards will all come to see "how powerful it is" as a learning tool. "If some of the skeptics see the kids with these, it will change their minds," predicted Rep. Shirley Richard, D-Madison, who co-chairs the Legislature's Education Committee. In addition, Richard said, the Legislature's decision last month to lock in $25 million for the program should help King raise more money privately this year. Already, King has lined up $1 million from the Gates Foundation and a pledge of $1 million from the MBNA Foundation. Maine bankers are putting up another $95,000, specifically to pay for additional fund-raising efforts. King said Friday that he still hopes to raise $15 million from private contributors before he leaves office. He agreed with Richard that the Legislature's decision not to divert the $25 million for other uses will help persuade the business community that the program is on a solid footing. "I don't think it will be easy" to come up with $15 million "but I think it will be doable," King said. He said the extra money would allow the state to extend the program into Maine's high schools, at least for freshmen and possibly sophomores. In addition, the program may get about $10 million from a state telecommunications fund controlled by the Public Utilities Commission, and from interest earned by the state computer fund. Still, other factors could spell trouble for the program, lawmakers say. For one thing, skeptics are not convinced the economy will continue to rebound as well as the state's revenue forecasters have predicted. That is a key factor, because another downturn could jeopardize state funding for laptops, in much the same way the recent recession almost torpedoed state funding in this legislative session. The state's revenue gurus decided recently that a projected $249 million shortfall in tax collections had shrunk to $157 million, allowing lawmakers to plug the budget hole without decimating the computer fund. "It was a very lucky coincidence that those (revenue) re-projections came in" at $157 million, said Rep. David Etnier, D-Harpswell. But if the economy heads south again next year, observers say, it may take the laptop program with it. Moreover, lawmakers will be keeping a close eye on how well the program works when the seventh-grade startup rolls around this fall. In Henrico County, Va., for example, the recent introduction of 11,000 iBooks grabbed headlines because some students used them to listen to music and play games during classes, download pornography and hack into other computers. Maine education officials insist the state has taken steps to avoid the types of problems that occurred in Virginia, and they say the use of laptops in Maine schools has worked well so far. That claim is supported by Oliver, the SAD 4 superintendent. "We're probably the biggest proponent of the program in the state of Maine," Oliver said. "This is a wonderful opportunity to provide individualized learning for students." Still, the successful use of a couple hundred laptops in one school in Guilford does not guarantee the same level of success for more than 18,000 seventh-graders this fall. For one thing, SAD 4 does not allow its students to take the laptops home, but some school districts may let students check out laptops for home use under the statewide program. "If it goes smoothly, it will have a lot of support" in the next legislative session, but first-year problems could spell trouble, said House Minority Leader Joe Bruno, R-Raymond. A shaky startup would be especially troublesome if it is combined with a shaky economy, observers say, because critics would seize on that to renew the fight. "Everything we've worked so hard for could be just upended," Richard said. But King remains optimistic. "I think we're going to look back on this as a turning point, and an important one," he said. Staff Writer Paul Carrier can be contacted at 622-7511 or at: |
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