logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Inquiry Planned into Maine Governor’s Threat to Yank Funding from Charter School

Ruth McCambridge
July 2, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

July 1, 2015; Wall Street Journal

Four lawmakers in Maine have requested an investigation into Republican Maine Governor Paul LePage’s behavior with one of the state’s charter schools based on the school’s plan to hire a Democratic rival. NPQ previously covered this situation as it originally played out. And, as far as we can see the inquiry will move forward after a unanimous vote by the 12-member bipartisan joint oversight committee approved the request.

The Governor is reported to have threatened to pull more than half a million in funding from the Good Will-Hinckley school based on the fact that it had offered the organization’s presidency to Maine House Speaker Mark Eves. LePage claimed that the hire was based on cronyism.  Eves, a therapist with experience in behavioral health, is accusing the governor of blackmail and is planning to file a civil suit. Meanwhile the school is paying Eves $30,000 for having backed out of its contract with him and it is under fire for allowing itself to be bullied.

Central Maine.Com reports that alumni and parents feel that the Good Will-Hinckley board’s decision to withdraw a job offer to Mark Eves is a bad example for students indicating that bullying is acceptable  and that money trumps values.

Jack Moore, Chair of the board has responded said in a telephone interview Monday that he just wanted to let the whole situation and that the board made the decision that was in the best interest of the students. “As fiduciaries faced with the loss of state and significant private funding, the very real financial consequences for the school made the board’s unanimous decision on June 24 black and white,” said Moore. Contrast this to the stand-up behavior of the Girl Scout Council we discussed yesterday.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

On Monday LePage acknowledged to reporters that he threatened to pull funding because he didn’t believe Mr. Eves was right for the job although how that call entered the realm of the governorship is anyone’s guess.

LePage’s stance is that the probe is illegitimate. “The Governor and the exercise of his discretionary executive power are simply not subject to OPEGA’s jurisdiction and/or oversight,”  Cynthia Montgomery, the governor’s chief legal counsel, wrote in a letter to the office’s director on Tuesday.

Meanwhile Chris Christie got into the act today while he was in Portland receiving the Governor’s endorsement, publicly supporting the position taken by LePage.

“Controversies come and go. Leadership is what stands strong and firm. And that’s what this governor has stood for his entire time in office,” Governor Christie said. Whatever that means. This situation clearly needs the legislative accountability attention though the facts appear to be relatively clear.—Ruth McCambridge

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Ruth McCambridge

Ruth is Editor Emerita of the Nonprofit Quarterly. Her background includes forty-five years of experience in nonprofits, primarily in organizations that mix grassroots community work with policy change. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Ruth spent a decade at the Boston Foundation, developing and implementing capacity building programs and advocating for grantmaking attention to constituent involvement.

More about: Accountabilitycharter schoolsNonprofit NewsPolicy

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn
The Human Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis Must Be Understood—And Acted Upon
Anmol Irfan
Black Americans Need Reparations: The Fight for the CTC Highlights the Roadblocks
Jhumpa Bhattacharya and Trevor Smith
Edgar Cahn’s Second Act: Time Banking and the Return of Mutual Aid
Steve Dubb

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of...
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.