AUBURN — It’s hot. It’s July. And voter interest in a second Auburn school budget referendum on July 23 is down, according to the number of absentee ballots taken out so far. Before the June 11 referendum, 541 absentee ballots were taken out. On Monday, there were 182 requests for absentee ballots for the July […]
education
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Bill would allow schools to spend extra funds without going to voters
AUGUSTA — Cities and towns across Maine will be watching Augusta this week, where lawmakers will consider legislation allowing them to redo their school districts’ budgets to spend unexpected state aid — without having to open the polls for voter approval. The measure is among the final bills the Democratic-controlled Legislature will take up when […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Free meals program expands to all Maine counties
PORTLAND (AP) — A federal program that provides low-income schoolchildren with free meals during the summer has for the first time expanded to every Maine county. Angela Wight, Summer Food Service Program coordinator for the state Department of Education, said there are now 307 summer meal sites in the state, up from 242 last summer. […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Harpswell charter school hires 5 faculty
HARPSWELL (AP) — A Harpswell charter school scheduled to open this fall received more than 100 unsolicited resumes from prospective faculty members for just a handful of positions. Harpswell Coastal Academy Head of School John D’Anieri said resumes started coming in before the school’s charter application was approved in February. The contract between the school […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Jim Perkins: Challenges ahead for public education
Recently, I experienced my final day of 25 years teaching math at Lewiston High School. There were moments, of course, but most of the days were a positive challenge as we strove with optimism to help students grow to a higher level of skills and understanding. It has been a wonderful career for me to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage vetoes budget
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage followed through on his vow to veto a compromise budget sent to to him June 13 by the Legislature. The Republican governor issued his veto letter Monday afternoon. In his veto message, LePage said the budget harms students and elderly Mainers. He also repeated his complaint that the state’s “welfare” spending cuts […]
Posted inFranklin, The Franklin Journal
Kingfield residents discuss future of town’s schools
KINGFIELD — Several residents met Thursday to discuss paying increasingly higher costs for a lower quality of education and possibly having less of a say in their children’s future. Those who gathered Thursday night shared concerns about SAD 58’s rising budget and the possibility of withdrawing from the district. Meeting organizer Mervin Wilson, also a […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
EL group to wait for state funding
AUBURN — Plans to replace Edward Little High School should wait as long as five years, until local leaders know how much state aid might be available, according to a planning committee. Members of the city’s New High School Steering Committee heard from Maine Deputy Education Commissioner Jim Rier on Tuesday night, when he counseled […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine gets federal grant for low-achieving schools
AUGUSTA (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education says Maine is getting a $1.7 million grant aimed at helping low-achieving schools. The department said the grant will go to the state Department of Education, which will run a competition and award smaller grants to local school district that demonstrate a need for the funds and […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Mac vs. PC: Maine schools face deadline to pick a side
AUGUSTA — The Apple-versus-PC debate is unfolding all over Maine this week as school districts face a Thursday deadline to choose which brand of taxpayer-funded computers some 70,000 students and teachers will use for the next four years. One choice is Apple laptop computers and tablets, which have been a mainstay of the Maine Learning […]