Education

A Quick Peek

It shouldn’t matter if you live in rural Maine or urban Maine, all Maine students have the right to a good education. A good educational system is necessary for the state’s economic development; well-educated citizens are also necessary to ensure responsive government and a healthy society. Smart kids, good schools--they bring new business, and they make our state and our lives better.

The Big Picture

Every kid deserves a good education, but that’s hard to get when shifting state funding policies throw local school budgets into doubt and out of balance. Towns--and their property taxpayers--are then left holding the bag.

Schools aren’t just places where kids learn. They are also places of community. Basketball games, show-choir, awards nights, they are the center of our towns’ lives. They are places where our futures are created and where friendships are formed.

Maine has a fantastic graduation rate. It’s one of the best in the country. Our post-secondary education system is also stellar.  We have a lot to be proud of, but there’s also a lot to work on. We have to make sure that Maine kids can go on to become college students and financial need doesn’t keep them from achieving their potential.

The Plan

• Decrease the reliance on property tax to fund education, which causes achievement and economic disparities between rural and non-rural communities
• Maintain local control of local schools
• Support early education (Zero to Five) programs that focus on children’s early years so that once they are in kindergarten they aren’t already behind
• Support teachers by reviewing retirement systems and working with the federal government to try to compensate for the loss of Social Security benefits
• Encourage professional development of teachers AND students
• Treat teachers like the professionals that they are. Approximately 30 percent of teachers leave the field after their first five years in schools. It’s time to recruit, retain and respect our teachers.
• Reward students for high intellectual achievement and support them in their quest for higher education. When the typical college student graduates she or he is in debt, an average of $19,000 in debt. That has to be curbed. You can’t build a life on debt.

Learn More

• K-12 Education in Maine
• Maine Department of Education
• Rural School & Community Trust
• Colleges & Universities
• Financing Education
  

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