Allegations of impropriety by Gov. Paul LePage regarding funding for the Good Will-Hinckley organization are serious business and deserve a thorough and fair review to determine whether any wrongdoing took place.
That’s why the Government Oversight
Committee, of which I am a member, was tasked with conducting a fact-finding
probe into the issue — to answer questions for the public over what, exactly,
happened.
At the committee’s direction, the Office
of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability conducted an initial
investigation and reported its findings several weeks ago. It found that the
governor and members of his administration opposed the decision of Good
Will-Hinckley to hire House Speaker Mark Eves as its new president.
Gov. LePage told Good Will-Hinckley — a
nonprofit that works with at-risk children — that it had lost his support, and
the governor’s top education official canceled a previously approved payment to
the organization.
The governor threatened to cut more than
half a million dollars per year in funding to GWH’s Maine Academy of Natural
Sciences, a charter school that provides science-based education, if the speaker
was made president. That threat came at a critical time financially for the
school, jeopardizing the organization's continued existence. It was also clear
in the report that the governor would restore funding if the speaker were
fired.
Good Will-Hinckley acquiesced to the
governor's wishes and fired Speaker Eves and consequently funding was restored.
OPEGA’s investigation was thorough and
well-conducted. But the committee has more questions for several key actors in
the Good Will-Hinckley affair, including the acting education commissioner, a
top policy adviser to the governor and the governor's attorney. We’ve invited
them to come speak with the committee and answer questions at our next meeting
on October 15.
I trust those officials will come to
answer our questions and clear the air. However, the committee does ultimately
have subpoena power, if needed.
Equally important, though, is the
opportunity of members of the public to come forward to provide testimony to
the committee about the Governor’s actions regarding Good Will-Hinckley. Our
job on the Government Oversight Committee is to bring all the relevant facts to
light, for the public good. If wrongdoing is discovered, the legislature may
decide to take further action.
But it’s imperative that members of the
public have a chance to weigh in. So I invite you to submit testimony to me
ahead of our next meeting or, if you’re able, to attend the meeting to testify
in person. You will be given time to address the committee and speak your mind.
The committee will meet at 9 a.m.
Thursday, October 15, in the Cross Office Building at the State House complex
in Augusta.
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