Jake Langlais is superintendent of Lewiston public schools.

In Lewiston schools, we are faced with impossible choices every day. These choices aren’t about upgrades or extras, they’re about reductions in counselors, larger class sizes and no librarians to help students find the books they need. These were once the basics in public education. Now, they’re what we’re fighting to keep.

For nearly 20 years, I’ve worked in the Lewiston public school system as a coach, a teacher, a principal and now as the superintendent. My job is no longer to be in the classroom or on the field, but to make sure students have what they need to learn and grow.

Lewiston is one of Maine’s largest and most diverse school districts. Today, roughly 70% of our students are economically disadvantaged, and many come from families who are new to our state and our country. What we are seeing in Lewiston is not unique, it’s a preview of where many communities across Maine are headed.

The problem is that our current school funding system hasn’t kept up with our changing population and student needs. Maine’s Essential Programs and Services (EPS) formula has not been meaningfully updated in nearly 20 years. It relies heavily on property values to determine a community’s ability to pay, an approach that no longer reflects the real cost of educating students or what wealth actually looks like in Maine today.

Right now, Maine legislators have an opportunity to take the first step toward fixing school funding for their communities. A current proposal, LD 2226, would update the EPS formula to align it more closely with what communities can afford to pay and what it actually takes to staff and support our schools.

For the first time, it would meaningfully incorporate community income and poverty levels into how we allocate resources, not just property wealth. This is not a rushed change. It’s the result of two years of research from the Maine Educational Policy Research Institute and input from educators and communities across the state, giving us more data than ever about what our schools need and how to fund them responsibly.

As a superintendent, I’m a realist and I know there is no silver bullet to solve education overnight. Funding changes from LD 2226 will take place over time to ensure stability for all districts. It includes a three-year hold harmless provision, meaning no district will see a reduction in funding during that time, which will be followed by a two-year stable percent-based transition.

This is the kind of practical reform that reflects the reality Lewiston, like many districts, is facing: difficult budget decisions that ask us to do more with less while still supporting every student.

When schools cannot absorb those costs, the burden shifts to local taxpayers, driving up property taxes in communities that are already stretched thin. In many cases, districts cannot even fully fund essential special education services, school counselors, nurses or librarians without relying on local taxpayers to make up the difference. That’s not a failure of our schools, it’s a failure of the funding formula.

Getting here has required real compromise, and it’s paid off.

Recently, the Education Committee voted 11–2 in favor of the bill — a strong bipartisan effort that shows this is about fairness and doing right by students across the state. It reflects hard conversations and real tradeoffs. It’s not perfect, but it is thoughtful, measured and grounded in what schools actually need.

With limited time left in the session, there is a clear opportunity for Maine legislators to move this forward once and for all. Let’s not wait another 20 years to make meaningful changes for our students.