By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer    

    Since the School Administration Reorganization law
took effect on June 7, educators statewide have been in an unenviable
position: exploring partnerships with other districts in order to form
regional school units and generating methods for cutting administrative
costs, while not having a solid understanding of the law’s
ramifications.

    South Portland’s newly appointed superintendent, Suzanne Godin, however, is taking it all in stride.

    “It’s an exciting time to be looking at education, but there is a lot on our plate,” she said.

    Last week, the school board authorized Godin, who
left her position as assistant superintendent last month to take over
for former superintendent Wendy Houlihan, to submit a letter of intent
to the state’s Department of Education by August 31 that will outline
South Portland’s plan to remain an independent district.  
 

    A district of more than 2,500 students, South
Portland qualifies for an exemption from the law. Although South
Portland and Cape Elizabeth administrators initially had discussions
about consolidating, Cape Elizabeth will likely also remain independent
as the district qualifies for the law’s “high performing, efficient
districts” exemption.

    “There’s some philosophical concerns between the two
districts,” said Godin, referring to some results of the consolidation
explorations. “Our initial look at financial pieces based on the
formula that the state was putting forth–there’s some question that we
might actually lose funding coming together because we’re a minimal
receiver district and that may impact the funding of the two
districts.”

    As a minimal receiver, Godin said, South Portland
receives roughly $4 million due to the state’s perception of the high
property value located within the district.

    “We have a burden on the backs of our taxpayers–how
are we going to provide an education at the level that sounds like our
taxpayers want for 3,100 students?”

    Godin said all talk of consolidation has not ceased.
Instead, Godin is continuing to meet with Cape Elizabeth Superintendent
Alan Hawkins and Portland Superintendent Mary Jo O’Connor to determine
ways of “collaborating resources and consolidating parts.”

    Although, Godin said it is too early to know how
those partnerships might work, she said one possibility may involve
coming together with Portland on transportation issues. Godin said she
will know more as she develops a full plan– to be submitted to the
state by Dec. 1– outlining the district’s proposed methods for cutting
costs in the four required areas: system administration,
transportation, special education and facilities and maintenance.

    Another item to digest on South Portland’s crowded
plate is the high school renovation and middle school consolidation
projects. In November, voters will have the opportunity to approve or
reject the $56 million bond for renovations and additions to the high
school.

    Godin said plans to consolidate Memorial and Mahoney
Middle Schools, a project that could receive state funding, are
currently on hold as the state has yet to distribute applications for
state funding for construction and changing the rules around state
funding has been part of the regionalization plan.

    Up until Election Day, Godin said the secondary
schools facilities committee plans to host a series of meetings with
various community groups and public forums to further discuss the
plans. Godin said the group will also be distributing informational
brochures, creating displays for the libraries and community center and
offering school tours.  

    The focus will be on the benefits the entire
community will receive by supporting renovation of the high school,
Godin said.

    “I was talking to Dana Anderson (Director of Public
Works and Parks and Recreation) yesterday and we were talking quite a
bit about how that actually between the high school fields and the
community center becomes a community campus in terms of recreation and
facilities,” she said. “So one of the pieces is we need to make sure
that people see the benefits–even if they don’t have children in
school- they’ll receive from this project.”

    Godin said the new high school building, in
conjunction with the “state of the art auditorium and state of the art
recreation center,” could eventually support a variety of school and
community functions.        

    Getting out into the community is something Godin
has been doing a lot of recently as she settles into her new role.
During her three years in the district, Godin said community
involvement was an area that she was not able to devote as much time to
as she would have liked. Now as head administrator, she is meeting with
the school board, the city council, municipal department heads, the
city manager, neighborhood organizations, senior housing groups, the
PTA and a representative community group.

     “My goal is to find out what they feel South
Portland should be proud of or recognized for, what challenges they see
ahead of us and then what are some of the priorities they think I
should be setting in terms of the direction the school department is
going,” she said. “I think the schools are a huge part of the South
Portland community–not only a huge part of the budget, but a part of
the community that we recognize as the growth of the students and I
want to make sure I’m hearing what all of the different components
would maybe feel are the needs for the school,” she said.

    One of the recommendation from Godin’s meetings is
she should consider co-teaching a class at the high school. As a former
classroom teacher, Godin said she continues to “look for ways to stay
connected to the classroom.”

    Godin taught fourth and fifth grade in Lewiston
schools for eight years before moving to a district level position as
the “Chapter One,” a pre-first grade reading comprehension program, and
math curriculum coordinator for five years. More recently, the North
Yarmouth resident was the assistant principal at Mabel I. Wilson
Elementary School, which serves Cumberland and North Yarmouth.  

    Having worked as a building administrator for nine
years, Godin said she knows it can be a struggle to maintain a
consistent presence in the classrooms.

    “The day to day challenges–consolidation, building
projects–can easily get in the way of direct connection to teaching and
learning,” she said.

    Godin said, however, she is committed to keeping
student achievement at the forefront of the district’s mission.

    “We need to focus on student achievement,” she said.
“We have had some great success in our graduation rate, in our college
acceptance rate, but we still have a number of students that drop out
of school and we still have a number of students that are not as
academically successful as we would like them to be.”

    Godin also said the district has a significant
attendance issue. There needs to be an element of community
involvement, she said, in order to make it a priority that students
attend school every day.  She also said the district needs to look
at ways to intervene sooner-as early as kindergarten-to encourage pride
in academic success.