Stearns maintains educational perspective in House District 119 race

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    GUILFORD — When Paul Stearns announced his plans last fall to run for the Maine House seat being vacated by Rep. Peter Johnson, he didn’t expect to run unopposed.
    But the Guilford Republican is the sole candidate on the Nov. 4 ballot for District 119.

    Former state representative Richard Gould of Greenville was slated to be the Democratic candidate, but he withdrew in July.
    “Dick (Gould) and I served on the Maine Small Schools Coalition. He’s a great guy and was a huge asset to the organization. He built up a tremendous network of knowledgeable people during his years in the House,” Stearns said. “But he was just a placeholder on the ballot and no other Democrats were interested in running.”
    Although Piscataquis County is a Republican stronghold, District 119 — formerly District 27 — has flipped back and forth between parties in recent years.
    Gould, who is also a former Greenville selectman and school board chairman, represented the district for five terms. The seat was later held by the late Republican State Rep. Earl Richardson, Democrat Sharon Libby Jones and Johnson.
    The district has been reduced in size somewhat after reapportionment last year. The towns of Cambridge, Kingsbury Plantation and Brownville have been removed and Parkman and Sangerville have been added.
    Stearns, 59, retired from SAD 4 in October 2013 and places education issues at the top of his priority list. “School funding is going to be the big issue, and I have some real concerns about it,” Stearns said. “One question that will never go away is: do we have enough money?”
    Stearns said that school systems are currently being funded at 46 percent of the Essential Programs and Services (EPS) level “while 55 percent has been the Legislature’s goal for some time.” Unfortunately, Stearns said, “We don’t have the money, nor do we have the appetite to increase taxes. On the other hand, I don’t think we necessarily need more money, but a different way of distributing what we have.”

Contributed photo

    ON THE TRAIL — Paul Stearns is pictured with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, left, and his wife, Melissa after the Sangerville Bicentennial parade last summer.

    The Republican candidate said that the greatest harm is done to “high-poverty, low-median income districts. Any cutbacks in funding are going to affect them more than districts in more affluent areas.”
    Unfortunately, he added, many of the more influential lawmakers are also from the wealthier communities. “So convincing them to send more money to rural areas is an uphill battle,” Stearns said.
    Although Stearns agrees with the concept of virtual schools, he said he was concerned about institutions like Connections Academy recruiting many of Maine’s home-schooled youngsters. “When they enroll in the virtual school, the districts are being billed for it,” Stearns said. “The state didn’t even negotiate a per-pupil cost with them. Right now, the virtual schools will cost us about $5 million in funding and I see this escalating.”
    Health care is another major concern for the residents of District 119, Stearns said, although he’s not sold on any expansion of MaineCare benefits. “When you start to depend on federal dollars for your federal programs, you lose your ability to make decisions down the road,” Stearns said. “But I’m also sympathetic to those who see this as a solution for those who desperately need health care. So I’m keeping an open mind about it. The MaineCare expansion bill was passed by the Legislature three or four times and vetoed by Gov. LePage. So there is support for it.”
    Stearns does agree with LePage’s stance on welfare abuse. “I’m 100 percent in favor of reforming our programs so that those who need assistance get it and those who don’t deserve it are taken off the rolls,” Stearns said.
    But he said that was skeptical about the newly-enacted program requiring photo ID’s on EBT cards. “I’m not sure we’re compliant with federal regulations,” Stearns said.
    The proposed east-west highway could also be a major campaign issue, Stearns said. “I think the people of the region have made it quite clear that they’re not interested in it,” he said. “I’d like to know where the route is going to be. And if something like this was ever built, I’d like to see some kind of user fee going to the communities where the road passes through.”
    Stearns was superintendent of SAD 4 for 10 years and is the immediate past president of the Maine School Superintendents’ Association.
    Previously, he was principal of SeDoMoCha Middle School in Dover-Foxcroft for four years, principal of Valley High School in Bingham for three years and held a variety of teaching positions in SAD 4 and also coached varsity boys’ soccer.
    His wife, Melissa, teaches second grade at Piscataquis Community Elementary School and the couple has two grown children: Sara, who lives in Saco; and Benjamin, who works for the U.S. Border Patrol in Texas.