Boat School’s hopes continue to rise and fall

Funding to allow the Boat School to remain in Eastport was not approved this week by the legislature's Appropriations Committee, despite the strong support for legislation to provide the necessary funds shown earlier by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The legislature did approve a measure requiring the Washington County Community College (WCCC) and the City of Eastport to explore partnerships with other educational institutions to strengthen and secure the future of the school in Eastport. The measure allocates $25,000 for the planning and coordination of the effort.

Local legislators have expressed hope that Governor John Baldacci may use his emergency powers to fund the Boat School in the coming weeks, but the uncertainty over funding has made for a rollercoaster ride of hope and disappointment for supporters of the school. Members of the Friends of the Boat School Marine Trades Development Corporation find the funding for a study "completely unacceptable" and will be inviting the key players C the University of Maine, Maine Maritime Academy, Husson College and the Maine Community College System --to a meeting in Eastport on Monday, June 12, to explore how a partnership might work. The Friends are grateful for the efforts of Senator Kevin Raye of Perry, Rep. Howard McFadden of Dennysville and Rep. Ian Emery of Cutler in fighting for funding for the Boat School. At a meeting on Tuesday, May 23, they also decided to establish an endowment fund, to be named for John Pike Grady, for leadership and key faculty at the Boat School in Eastport.

While local legislators have been pushing for funding for several priorities identified by the Washington County Economic Development Task Force, the fight for the Boat School proved to be the most difficult challenge, as majority Democrats opposed Republican efforts to include $200,000 in a $5.8 million higher education funding package approved by the Appropriations Committee late on Sunday, May 21. The final package included $4.2 million for the University of Maine System and $1.6 million for the Maine Community College System.

"This is a bittersweet outcome. On one hand, I am very pleased that the state is making a stronger commitment to higher education next year, and I am hopeful that it will have a positive impact statewide, including the University of Maine at Machias, Washington County Community College, the Unobskey School, and the students they serve," said Senator Raye. "But it is a devastating blow to Washington County and the boatbuilding industry to refuse a modest $200,000 allocation to keep the Boat School alive. It shows an utter disregard for both Maine's boatbuilding industry and Washington County, and it flies in the face of overwhelming Senate and House votes to fund the school in Eastport."

Raye spent Sunday in Augusta participating in Appropriations Committee negotiations. As part of that effort, Raye met with Governor John Baldacci Sunday night to appeal for his support, but the governor declined to get involved in the effort to appropriate money for the Boat School.

"What is most mind-boggling is that the Maine Community College System actively rallied opposition to our efforts on the Boat School," said Rep. Howard McFadden. "How they could do so in good conscience is beyond me. It is confirmation of what we all know -- the community college system has failed to be a good steward of the Boat School. It is a betrayal of Maine's boatbuilding industry."

"The Boat School has fallen victim to the sad reality that some people in Augusta put politics ahead of good policy," said Rep. Ian Emery. "Just as we have seen with school funding, property tax relief and hospital funding, the people controlling Augusta don't care about rural Maine. If the Boat School was in vote-rich Cumberland County, the governor and his allies in the legislature would have made sure it was funded."

The exclusion of the Boat School from the higher education package forced the bill to compete for funds left on the appropriations table, where just $730,000 was available to fund proposals totaling nearly $260 million. That proved an insurmountable obstacle despite votes of 32-3 in the Senate and 106-40 in the House to provide $433,000 to keep the Boat School in Eastport, a level that had been recommended by WCCC President Bill Cassidy.

When it became clear that funding would not be provided for the Boat School, Republicans proposed amendments to transfer ownership of the Eastport campus to the City of Eastport for re-use, pointing out that the city had originally given the campus to the state for one dollar. When that was rejected, Republicans sought to provide the campus rent-free to the City of Eastport for re-use, but that was also rebuffed.

In a final compromise, the legislature did approve an amendment requiring WCCC and the City of Eastport to explore partnerships to strengthen and secure the future of the Boat School. The measure specifies the participation of the University of Maine System, Maine Maritime Academy, Husson College, Friends of the Boat School, and the Maine Marine Trades Association, and allocates $25,000 for the planning and coordination of the effort. The group must report its recommendations to the legislature by February 1, 2007.

Raye, McFadden and Emery expressed hope that the governor will use his emergency powers to fund the Boat School in coming weeks, as he is expected to do for the Downeast Heritage Museum. The legislators cited a report that the governor told a group of boatbuilders on Monday, May 22, that he has decided that moving the program to Calais is not an option and that he would try to find the funding to keep it in Eastport. Since Baldacci declined to support an appropriation, the only apparent avenue open to him is to exercise his executive powers, according to Raye. If he does not do so, the closure of the Boat School is imminent, with the boatbuilding program to be moved to the Calais campus of WCCC.

Other funding priorities
As for the other funding priorities recommended by the Washington County Economic Development Task Force, the local legislators were successful in pushing for $15,000 in operational funding for the Down East Institute for Applied Marine Research (DEI) at Beals Island, with the passage of LD 228. They also helped secure funding for the Washington County Development Authority, which will receive $75,000 for use in promoting economic development projects. Two Pine Tree Zone pilot projects were also approved for seasonal natural-resource based industries and for development of the former Cutler naval station. The bills, along with the measure to study the future of the Boat School, were signed into law by Governor Baldacci on May 24. "Supporting locally driven priorities will allow Washington County to grow," the governor stated. "I am happy to be able to support the efforts of these fine, hard-working people."

While pleased with these items, area legislators expressed disappointment in the governor's lack of support for the overall package recommended by the task force. Baldacci appointed the group last summer and its members worked for months to develop recommendations.

"The task force endorsed key projects totaling more than $2.4 million in this year's budget. With his party firmly in control of the legislature, the governor had an opportunity to show true leadership to marshal resources to address Washington County's economy, but he chose to sit on the sidelines when the legislature considered the recommendations of his own task force," noted Raye, McFadden and Emery in a prepared statement. "As a result, most of the identified needs remain unmet, meaning we will have to fight for them next year."

After the Washington County priorities were left out of the supplemental budget last month, Raye, McFadden and Emery predicted a difficult fight, but vowed to wage an effort despite long odds. Among task force priorities receiving no funding in the final package were Sunrise County Economic Council and the Incubator Without Walls small business program.

"The governor was AWOL when it came to shepherding these proposals through the legislature," says Raye. He believes, though, that other legislators have greater awareness now of Washington County priorities and that there is a sense that the county has not been treated well. "We will continue to fight another day," comments Raye. "That's the one thing we've got to have in Washington County -- perseverance."