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EASTPORT — Last
week’s graduation and launching ceremony at the
Washington County Community College Boat School
was filled with mixed emotion and uncertainty.
The ceremony drew
a crowd of more than a 100 who came to support the
school’s graduates, faculty and staff now facing
what appears to be the end of an era in Maine’s
boatbuilding education community.
Earlier this year,
college President William Cassidy announced that
the school’s program be “put on hiatus” while it
is re-tooled. Cassidy said one of the key factors
in this decision was made because of declining
enrollment. Four students were in this year’s
class.
Instructor Bret
Blanchard said enrollment is down not because
there is a lack of interest in the program but
because of poor recruitment efforts made by the
college. He said the school lost its recruiting
administrator five years ago and the position has
never been filled.
Many who attended
the day’s festivities echoed Blanchard’s
sentiments.
Dan LaCasse of
Calais was on hand to celebrate his son Matt’s
graduation.
The elder LaCasse
said the boatbuilding schools in
St. Andrews, New Brunswick, and
the Landing
School in Kennebunkport continue to
attract many students each year.
“Both of these
schools prioritize recruitment for their
programs,” he said. “The program here in Eastport
is one of very few opportunities for the people in
Washington
County to learn valuable skills in an industry that continues to expand.”
LaCasse said the
area needs to attract prospective students and
retain the programming offered by the college.
“Getting rid of
the faculty and staff doesn’t give me a lot of
hope that this program will continue,” he said.
“It will perpetuate the big out-migration for our
kids who will need to leave their homes in search
of opportunities elsewhere.”
For more than 30
years, the school has offered a two-year diploma
in boatbuilding technology, and provided the
industry with many skilled individuals in the
marine trades. The school has attracted praise and
accolades from many industry leaders.
From the vice
president of production for Hinckley Co. to the
editor of Professional BoatBuilder magazine, Boat
School graduates have helped define the thriving industry.
In December 2002,
former governor Angus King made a proclamation
declaring, “The Boat School is continuously
recognized as one of the best facilities in the
United States, bringing great pride and deserved
respect to the Maine Technical College System and
Washington
County Community College.”
The irony was not
lost to the many who recalled when King proclaimed
that “the technology of the present and the
future is being taught at The Boat School at
Eastport to ensure the marine industry of Maine
and America remains healthy and competitive.”
Blanchard who
presided over last week’s commencement ceremony
said he was not giving up on the program and will
do what it takes to makes sure that the program
will continue its long and successful history.
“The last chapter
has not been written,” he said. |
