MONTPELIER – The students in the packed gymnasium of the Union Elementary school quieted down and listened intently as Gov. James Douglas read to them Tuesday, and as he told them the importance of the state’s mentoring program, which connects children with adults who can help and guide them.

But Douglas, long a champion of the program, is also recommending a significant cut to its budget.

“We are trying to be balanced,” Douglas said after the gathering. “We are trying to prioritize.”

It is one small example of the budget decisions being made in Vermont during a year in which dropping state revenue and increasing need are squeezing programs across state government. The mentoring program, which has received about $250,000, would lose about $80,000 of state money under Douglas’ budget.

But the fact that it will continue to get some state money – 19 other programs or grants would be eliminated entirely under the proposed budget – shows that it remains a priority for the administration, said Robert Hofmann, secretary of the Agency of Human Services.

The mentoring program by the Permanent Fund for the Well Being of Vermont Children connects adults who want to be mentors with children who are looking for the companionship and help they can provide. Kids who have mentors are less likely to use illegal drugs, less likely to get in fights and more likely to go to school, according to the administration.

Sometimes that mentoring can be as simple as reading a book together.

“It’s something I look forward to every week,” said Dennis Menard, a mentor in the Montpelier program.

Desiree Watson, the fifth grader who Menard reads to, summed up the advantages succinctly.

“It is really, really fun,” she said.

The program has, so far, connected more than 700 such pairs and hopes to reach 1,000 by the end of the year.

But if approved the reduction in state funding – although there are private sources that also provide money for the organization, such as Chittenden Bank – will put a dent in its work.

Still, until three years ago, there was no state funding for the mentoring work, Douglas said. And the proposed cuts do not mean his administration is not committed to the program, or believes it won’t help the children enrolled in it become leaders in the state, Douglas said.

“Maybe there is a future governor here,” he told the assembled students.

Source URL:  http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100127/NEWS02/1270324/1003/NEWS02

Tags: Budget, Governor Douglas, Montpelier, National Mentoring Month 2010, Permanent Fund for the Well Being of Vermont Children, Union Elementary School