Good morning from Augusta, where the Department of Education has told public schools they will receive state subsidies this year even if the Legislature is unable to reconvene for an important vote on the school funding formula.
As has been widely reported, one of the bills left undone amid a squabble between House Democrats and Republicans was LD 1869, which would essentially release around $1 billion in education funding for public schools that was appropriated last year. The bill, which there is a version of every year, determines how the money would be divided among schools based on changing factors such as student enrollment levels and municipal property valuations.
Superintendents have been fretting over the issue. Many districts are in the process of proposing and voting on their budgets for the next school year and in late April, the Maine School Management Association sent a bulletin to schools stating that failure of the bill would put an “inordinate burden on local property tax payers.” The bill was tabled in the Senate on April 18.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “What happens to state aid for Maine schools if legislators fail to get their act together,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writerChristopher Cousins, please follow this link to the BDN online.
