Bill would include religious schools
Over the years, bills that call for using taxpayer money to send children to religious schools haven't met with much success in Augusta.

But lawmakers will be more likely to give them a closer look this legislative session now that the U.S. Supreme Court has said religious schools can be included in a choice program, if states allow it.

The high court's decision definitely should help the cause, according to Rep. Kevin Glynn, R-South Portland, who is sponsoring a bill that would broaden the limited voucher system Maine already has.

LD 182 would allow parents in small towns or districts that don't have schools or that contract with other districts to send their children to religious schools with state money - something that's been forbidden since 1981. Currently, parents in those towns can use up to about $6,000 in public funds to send their children to any public school or nonsectarian private school.

Examples of such towns in the Bangor area include Glenburn and Orrington, which send their students to many different high schools. Even students in SAD 63 (the Holden area) have a choice of high schools because the district has none.

Opponents of vouchers, like Rob Walker, director of the Maine Educational Association, which represents public school teachers and administrators, says there should be stronger separation between church and state. Taxpayer funding of religious schools would divert money from public education, he contends.

Proponents, including Michael Heath, director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, contend the policy prohibiting the state from paying tuition at religious schools is discriminatory.

And they say LD 182 could help ease the state's budget crunch since parochial schools usually charge lower tuition.

Frank Heller of the Maine School Choice Coalition in Brunswick said town officials have told him they "would save a significant amount of money" if they could tuition out to lower-cost parochial schools.

Most of the debate over vouchers in Maine has taken place in the southern part of the state, where parents have lost court battles seeking public funds to send their children to religious schools in the Portland area. Now they're back in court, hoping the new Supreme Court ruling will help their cause.

Another new wrinkle in the debate is that central and northern Maine Christian schools have decided to weigh in on the issue.

"We figured it's our duty to support this. It's time for Christians to stand up and say, 'We just want to be treated fairly,"' said Greg Swallow, a member of the board of directors of Greater Houlton Christian Academy, a prekindergarten through grade 12 school with 171 students, which attracts paying students from all over central Aroostook County.

Swallow plans to testify next week in favor of the bill, as do representatives from Bangor Christian School, which has 400 kindergarten through 12th-grade students and is the largest school of its kind in the state.

"We want our parents to be able to pick and choose what's best for their child, not the government," said Michael Blake, associate principal at the Baptist school.

Maine has approximately 50 Christian schools that potentially could see increased enrollment if the bill was enacted.

The Greater Houlton Christian Academy stands to gain more students from Orient since that town isn't part of a school district and uses state funds to send its children to school elsewhere.

Principal Mark Jago said a number of Orient parents were interested in sending their children to his school a couple of years ago but couldn't afford the tuition.

In SAD 70 (the Hodgdon area), Superintendent Deborah Stewart said the bill could have drastic implications.

Her district receives $100,000 in tuition from 13 Orient students. If even one of them chose to attend Greater Houlton Christian, "it would hurt pretty bad," she said.

Religious schools have always guarded their freedom against state control, and accepting state money has unknown implications.

Robert Seccareccia, principal of the 123-student Calvary Chapel Christian School in Orrington, is concerned about the strings that could be attached to public funds.

"I don't want us to be involved with the government if it would ... restrict our ability to teach the values we want to teach," he said.