With great interest, I've been reading about the recent MPA proposal to reduce athletic opportunities to help ease budget concerns.  As a 12 year member of the Scarborough Town Council, I can certainly appreciate the efforts being made to streamline expenditures during these tough economic times.  That being said, I would urge you to not support the clause to withdraw from New England competitions for a number of reasons.
First, and foremost, the New England Championships are a tremendous opportunity for our young men and women to compete against a higher level of competition.  Oftentimes, the New England Championships are the crowning achievement and reward for four years of hard work and personal sacrifice.  The experience gained here only further cements the life skills that are taught through athletics such as work ethic, discipline, teamwork, dedication and the importance of maintaining a positive mental attitude.  These life skills give our young people the blueprint for success in life in what is an ultra-competitive world.
As a parent, I got to witness first hand the significant personal growth my daughter Sara experienced last year competing in the New England Cheering Championships.  As a coach in Massachusetts and Maine, it was my privilege to help prepare many athletes for the challenges of this competition.  A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to mentor Allison Chamberlain, Erica Jesseman, Kaitlynn Saldanha and Hilary Curtis of Scarborough High School.  As you know, these young women ran the fastest time in the history of Maine High School athletics in the 4 x 800 relay (9:27.08), which gives them a bond that will last a lifetime.  In addition, the experience gained at the New England Championships opened doors for all four of these young women to compete collegiately, which they're doing with great success.
Second, although the proposal sounds good in theory, the reality is that any "savings" would be negligible.  The fact is transportation is usually provided in a private vehicle because of the limited number of individuals that qualify.  To the best of my knowledge, Scarborough does not provide an additional coaching stipend.  I'm confident that any coach that does get an additional stipend would be more than willing to forego it to keep the New England's in play for their student athletes.  The entry fee is $15 per athlete, which I'm sure any family would gladly pay to give their child the opportunity for this experience.  In summary, there are NO cost savings of any significance.
Third, to the best of my knowledge the MPA sanctions 19 sports (some for both men and women).  Only six sports (less than 33%) in Maine even have the option of competing at New England's (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track, swimming, wrestling and cheering).  The major team sports - football, soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, softball and lacrosse - do not compete in New England's due to the length of the play-offs in Maine.  The vast majority of Maine athletes that qualify for New England's compete individually, which is minimal (if any) cost to the school district.
Fourth, the aforementioned sports that do qualify for New England's already have a limited number of competitions.  For example, indoor track only has 10 competitions (including New England's).  Compare this to basketball, which can have up to 35 games (18 regular season, 12 holiday tournament, 5 play-off).  This ratio seems inherently unfair, but folks in track (or swimming and wrestling for that matter) have never complained about the already limited amount of opportunities there are to compete.  It may make sense to lower the amount of games for the actual team sports.  It makes no sense to further lessen the amount of competitions for what are deemed more individual sports.
Fifth, New England's are not mandatory.  Each district has the option of allowing their student athletes the opportunity to compete at this level.  There is no unfair competitive advantage since it's the last meet of the season.
I could continue to list reasons to support my position, but I think the five listed are more than adequate to support removing the langauage to withdraw from New England's from the MPA proposal.  Equity has been mentioned by many as a driving force behind this proposal.  Equity is a worthy goal, but it's unattainable in this case.  It's true that some communities have stronger booster groups than other communities.  It's also true some school districts get up to 88% of their school budget in GPA (general purpose aid), while others like South Portland get less than 15% GPA.  There is no silver bullet that provides equity on every issue.
In closing, my experience as an elected official has proven to me that the one size fits all approach, while convenient, does not work the majority of the time in resolving complex issues.  I request that you consider speaking with your colleagues at the MPA about this proposal.  I took the liberty of sending a copy to the members of the MPA Interscholastic Management Committee.  I trust the school year is going well.  Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter, as well as for all you do on a daily basis for our young people.  Please call if I can be of any further assistance regarding this matter.

Sincerely,
Jeff Messer