By David Harry

Staff Writer

Global applications may be pitted against a need for diversified studies as Scarborough schools consider the future of foreign languages.

Faced with two budget scenarios that call for reduced spending throughout the district, Scarborough High School Principal Patricia Conant is prepared to eliminate a French teacher. The cut also would lead to elimination of an upper-level French course.

The Board of Education is considering three proposals for next year’s budget. The first budget of $36.89 million would boost spending by 4.82 percent from the current $35.19 million while maintaining all programs, staffing and anticipating benefit cost increases and settling labor contracts; a second would reduce spending to $34.62 million; and a third would reduce spending to $34.09 million.

Conant submitted a proposal for the two smaller budgets that calls for  eliminating  a French teaching position, a savings of $50,000, according to budget documents. The school department curriculum committee also is considering eliminating French completely in favor of Chinese, said foreign language department chairman Erik Zavasnik.

Introducing Chinese, perhaps taught through online courses, would fit well with the board’s goal of preparing students for the 21st century.

Ethnologue.com, a Web site that tracks world languages, lists Chinese as the most-spoken language in the world with an estimated 1.21 billion speakers. Spanish, which is offered along with Latin at Scarborough High School, is ranked second with 329 million speakers and French at 16th with 67.8 million speakers.

The possibility of eliminating a foreign language offering upset students, in teacher Helene Van Neste including sophomore Stephen Kimball who said the lack of learning opportunities will affect how colleges look at his applications.

“This is a cut to our future,” he said.

Foreign languages would not be the only targets of budget cuts at the high school. Conant has proposed eliminating full-time teaching positions in English and history, several part-time and education technician positions and a secretarial position to generate savings of $260,000 to meet a budget of $34.62 million.

Those cuts and a full-time position in math and one in science also would be eliminated to meet the other school budget target of $34.05 million

The foreign language reductions are spread throughout the district, where instruction begins with third-graders at Wentworth Intermediate School.

Budget documents indicate the possible elimination of two foreign language teaching positions at Wentworth Intermediate School and one position at Scarborough Middle School to save $100,000.

Zavasnik, the foreign language chair, said he supports introducing Chinese, even if it initially is taught through an online course such as Rosetta Stone. However, he does not think it should be taught at the expense of another foreign language and because Chinese may have more global applications.

In the 1980s, when Zavasnik attended Portland’s Deering High School, he said courses were available in Spanish, French, Russian, German and Latin. 

Zavasnik said he did not dispute the potential economic benefits of learning Chinese, but recalled how learning Japanese was in vogue when he was in high school and the Japanese economy was booming.

No matter where French falls on the scale of global use, students in Van Neste’s class say they enjoy learning it.

“Spanish is too normal,” said ninth-grader Aaron Ravin about why he began taking French classes when he was in fourth grade.

Students including freshman Rosie Doe do not doubt the permanence of the language.

“It is not as though French is going to disappear,” she said.

Switching to online courses for Chinese presents two expensive challenges, Zavasnik said, because the high school lacks computer infrastructure to implement the courses and licensing agreements are expensive.

Eliminating courses taught to younger students and advanced placement courses for high school students will lead to more introductory courses in high school. Eliminating an upper-level course prevents students from fully learning and appreciating the language, Van Neste said.

Sophomore Rachel Hatem said learning French is critical because she would like a career in the fashion industry and because colleges are looking for applicants who study a variety of subjects.

“The whole package creates the impressions,” she said.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219