SCHOOL SUPERINTENDANT NAMED

The Portland School Committee voted Feb. 25 to hire Portland native James Morse, Sr. as superintendent of the Portland Public Schools. He has served as superintendent of the Messalonskee School District (MSAD 47) in Oakland for the past 12 years, and previously served as superintendent of the Limestone Public Schools. He will take over the leadership of Maine’s largest district in July.
"Dr. Morse has demonstrated considerable leadership skills in several educational settings,” said Sarah Thompson, School Committee member and Chair of the Superintendent Search Committee. “He has prioritized effectively and created efficiencies in order to stay within budget while reducing dropout rates, keeping low student-teacher ratios and creating a student-centered environment."
Morse was selected after a 10-month nationwide search conducted by the School Committee with input from teachers, parents, administrators, union representatives, business and education partners, community members and students.
During his 32-year career, Morse has taught art in grades kindergarten through 12 and served as principal at the elementary, middle and high school levels in several Maine schools. He expanded programs for struggling students, developed a comprehensive technology program and instituted a district-wide focus on improving literacy in the Messalonskee district, which led to higher college placement rates and low dropout rates.
He helped found the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM) in Limestone, the state’s only public charter magnet school. It was recently named the 12th best high school in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
He has also served since 2003 as a gubernatorial appointee to Maine’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG). Paul Vestal, Jr., the JJAG’s chairman, described Morse as “a tremendous advocate for many of Maine's hard-to-reach youth.”

Morse grew up in Portland’s Bayside neighborhood and graduated from Portland High School in 1973. He holds a BA and MA in education at the University of Maine and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Sarasota. His hobbies include drawing and motorcycling. The School Committee will hold a celebration in the spring to introduce him to the community.

CBITD TICKET PRICE INCREASE LIKELY

Operations Committee public hearing meeting Feb 11, 7:45am.

The CBITD Operations Committee voted against two proposed schedule changes that might have saved the District an estimated $36,000 over the next year, after hearing public comment from 12 island residents, Casco Bay Line crew members and staff who argued that the tightened schedule would adversely impact the quality of life for down-the-bay residents and put too much pressure on crews to load freight quickly, potentially creating unsafe conditions on the boats.

Committee Chair Jim Phipps emphasized that the hearing was meant only to garner public opinion and apparently did not expect the matter to be decided on, but when the public comment period ended, after little discussion committee member Mac McKone moved for a vote and both measures were overwhelmingly defeated. The consensus after the meeting was that, as a result of the defeat, ticket prices most likely will go up.

The decision evidently took the committee itself by surprise. In statements that echoed one another almost word for word, members said they had fully expected to approve the measures until public comments changed their minds. CBITD board President Donna Rockett was especially regretful. “This is hard,” she said. “I was the one who brought these [measures] to the District and pushed for them.”

In part, the reversal may have been a reaction to the attempts by the committee chair to suppress comments from crew members who were saying that the proposed schedule changes would not leave enough time to load freight. Phipps tried to cut them off several times, saying those arguments were not appropriate for public comment and should be addressed to management in “in-house letters”.

“This is a public comment period,” he said, “and we need to be hearing from the public.”

But prior to voting, instead of discussing the merits of the proposals among themselves, committee members one after another turned to the audience to say they disagreed with Phipps and that based on the crew’s comments as well as other public comment they would not approve the measures.

With the defeat of these proposals it appears that an increase in ticket prices is the only available measure left that can address the anticipated budget deficits for next year, and people at the hearing seemed to accept the idea with shrugging resignation.

The deciding issues were summed up by committee member Nancy Gleason in her closing argument: “This is about quality of life and safety. As much as I want to save money, the benefits don’t seem to outweigh the costs.”

Said Jim Phipps, “I guess it’s up to the Finance Committee now to find a way to make up the $36,000 you just voted down.”

PEAKS ISLAND COUNCIL INAUGURATION CEREMONY