Gov. Paul LePage outlined his spending priorities in his two-year budget. Other states are asking state employees and teachers to accept painful cuts. The governor wants to change the retirement age of state employees to 65. State retirees have not received a cost of living increase for the past two years and LePage wants them to forgo cost of living increases and accept modest increases in the future. We should note that people on Social Security have not received any increase for the past two years.

More than $500 million would be saved in the retirement system during the biennium.

The governor wants to increase funding to the school systems and teachers. That would provide them with their yearly pay raises and benefits. The taxpayers are expected to fund the additional increases to local school systems.

Enough is enough.

I believe the state’s education system is out of control. Recent data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that 36 percent of students entering college require remedial education to do college work.

The time is now to correct the poor standards used to educate children, and return to a feasible, affordable education budget.

Richard A. McInnis, Rumford