Spent some time re-reading the relevant sections. It doesn't really clear up the issue.
The phrase "skill total" is used only twice. Once in the evocation maneuver section and once in the section on explosions (YS325) under Running the Game - and there it's fairly clearly meant to be the skill as written on the sheet, not the roll plus rating.
On the flip side, maneuvers targeted at an opponent are explicitly contested actions. (So much so that some have argued maneuvers can only occur in conflicts.) In any case, the conflict section on maneuvers (YS207) explicitly states "...a maneuver is performed much like an attack—you roll an appropriate skill against the opponent and try to beat the opponent’s defense roll." Examples on YS208 show the skill vs skill used.
Going back to YS252, evocation maneuvers are explicitly based on shifts of power which is only indirectly related to a skill roll. "By default, pulling off most maneuvers requires 3 shifts of power, but if the target has an appropriate resisting skill rated higher than Good (+3), that skill total determines the required number of shifts."
The options presented appear to be either an uncontested roll for targeted evocation maneuvers (just need shifts equal to skill total) or opposing shifts of power with a skill roll. (A third option might be opposing the control roll but that's not presented by the book.) Either way, we're ignoring conflicting information.
Think I'll keep the shifts vs defense roll model. Self and scene maneuvers are powerful enough, I don't see a need to make targeted maneuvers easier.