Moody’s knocks Maine state budget for failure to fund schools
Maine’s new biennial budget underserves the state’s cities and towns because it fails to provide adequate state funding for K-12 education, according to a report from a major credit-rating agency. In a...
View ArticleRSU 21 voters in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel will decide on school...
Residents of Regional School Unit 21 will vote Tuesday on a $56.5 million school renovation bond that was scaled back after voters previously rejected a more elaborate plan to overhaul three district...
View ArticleScarborough council tentatively approves third try at school budget
SCARBOROUGH — The Town Council gave unanimous but tentative approval Wednesday to a revised $43.5 million school budget proposal that just might win voter support in a third validation referendum...
View ArticleAdditional state aid could cut South Portland property tax rate
SOUTH PORTLAND — An additional $884,000 in state education aid could help to reduce the local property tax rate by 33 cents, or nearly 2 percent, in fiscal year 2016 under proposed budget adjustments...
View ArticleUMaine System facing $16 million operating loss
BANGOR — The University of Maine System faces a $16 million operating loss for the $519 million budget year that ended in June, largely because of $11 million in new retirement and severance costs, the...
View ArticleKing Middle School Principal Michael McCarthy will retire after 27 years
A two-time state principal of the year who adopted an in-depth teaching model known as Expeditionary Learning at King Middle School is retiring, Portland School District officials announced Tuesday....
View ArticleProposed $43.5M school cost awaits Scarborough vote
Scarborough voters will consider a $43.5 million school budget proposal when they go to the polls on Aug. 4 in a third attempt to approve a 2015-16 spending plan. The Town Council voted 7-0 Wednesday...
View ArticleUnity College marking 50th anniversary
Unity College celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend In 1965, 10 men banded together with an idea: to start a college in the Maine town of Unity. The founders secured land, funding and brought in...
View ArticleBangor Savings executive to lead Maine Development Foundation
Yellow Light Breen, an education activist and senior executive at Bangor Savings Bank, has been named the new chief officer of Maine Development Foundation. The foundation’s board made the announcement...
View ArticleIn third referendum, Scarborough passes $43.5 million school budget
Scarborough voters finally passed a 2015-16 school budget Tuesday, ending a contentious, monthslong validation process on the third attempt. The vote was 1,679-1,053 in favor of the $43.5 million...
View ArticlePortland’s interim superintendent completes overhaul of administration with 3...
Interim Portland Superintendent Jeanne Crocker announced a new chief academic officer, a new director of school management and a new director of transportation for the district on Tuesday, filling...
View ArticleCaroline MacKenzie: Working student hard-pressed to graduate quickly
Caroline MacKenzie is driving herself crazy trying to stay on top of paying for college and actually having enough time to attend it. MacKenzie, a junior, needs to work as many hours as possible to pay...
View ArticleCaley Presby: Economic reality pares choices
University of Southern Maine senior Caley Presby has had her eye on dental school for years. But after calculating how much it will cost her, she’s having some doubts. “It’s always been the plan, but...
View ArticleTodd Richard: Resuming college at 39
Todd Richard is about to take a leap of faith. He’s 39 years old, a father of two and a lifelong musician. He’s got about two years of an undergraduate degree in music under his belt, and this fall,...
View ArticleLeaders propose ways to contain college costs, student-loan debt
Here are some ideas policymakers have suggested to lower college costs and student loan debt. • Debt-free or tuition-free college: Embraced by Democrats and dismissed by Republicans, the idea is to use...
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Political response to crushing college debt ratchets up
Last in an occasional series Rachel Boutin graduated three years ago from the University of New England with a doctorate in physical therapy and $203,000 in federal student loans. Today her student...
View ArticleTeachers seek to take down cell tower at Deering High School
Undeterred by recent tests showing that radio frequency emissions from a cell tower at Deering High School are well below federal standards, some teachers are trying to garner community support to...
View ArticleMaine receives extended waiver on No Child Left Behind rules
Maine has received a three-year extension of a waiver on some provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind law, allowing more flexibility in setting progress goals and benchmarking students’...
View ArticleFacing blowback, LePage administration quietly dissolved ties with Jeb Bush’s...
A couple of weeks before Christmas 2012, two mid-level staffers from the Foundation for Excellence in Education – a Florida-based education reform organization founded and chaired by Jeb Bush – were...
View ArticleAt Maine’s Blueberry Harvest School, migrant kids reap education
DEBLOIS — It’s barely 7 a.m. and a sleepy 3-year-old, Madeline Ramirez, is clutching her dinosaur stuffie and waiting in line to board the yellow school bus with about a dozen kids. Across the road...
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