Tracy McGhie, a teacher at Ocean Avenue Elementary School in Portland, is seeking $558 from Donors Choose for new classroom furniture, such as these yoga balls, that are becoming popular in schools across the country. PORTLAND — Tight budgets often mean teachers turn to alternative sources to get the educational materials their students need. With crowdfunding […]
schools
Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine offers free lead testing for school water
AUGUSTA — The water going to Maine schools is tested and safe, but the water quality inside schools is largely unknown. A voluntary state program is covering the cost of analyzing the lead content of up to 10 water samples from each school. The federal Lead and Copper Rule doesn’t require water utilities to test […]
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Posted inLocal & State, sj-web
Maine school boards push back against Gov. Paul LePage
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage believes Maine has a glut of school superintendents and he intends to pressure districts into consolidating administrations with the two-year budget he will propose in early 2017. LePage said in a recent interview that funding is being spent more on the administration of schools and not in the classroom. The […]
Posted inFranklin
RSU 9 approves medical marijuana policy
FARMINGTON — Regional School Unit 9 directors unanimously approved a policy Tuesday to allow parents or guardians to administer medical marijuana on school property to students with medical documentation. The Medical Marijuana in Schools policy passed the second and final reading without discussion. The policy complies with a state law that went into effect last […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lewiston: More students equals bigger budget proposal
What you need to know What’s the proposed budget and its impact? The Lewiston School Department preliminary budget is $69.9 million, a 7.8 percent increase. Superintendent Bill Webster thinks these numbers will go down. Property taxes are estimated increase 3.9 percent, or $58.50 more a year for a home assessed at $150,000. Why is it […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Faith Fontaine and Brent Bilodeau win Auburn School Committee seats
AUBURN — Incumbent Brent Bilodeau and Faith Fontaine won at-large seats on the School Committee in a four-way race Tuesday. Bilodeau and Fontaine beat John Carney and Lawrence Pelletier. Fontaine had 2,045 votes; Bilodeau had 1,406. The other committee seats were unopposed. Winning seats were Bonnie Hayes, Ward 2; Thomas Kendall, Ward 3; Tammy Neilson, […]
Posted inLocal Sports
The Hot Corner: Advantages in public vs. private debate vastly overstated
A funny thing happened Saturday while I watched Lisbon celebrate a double-overtime field hockey playoff victory over North Yarmouth Academy. I realized that we were all gathered at a private school. We were standing on expensive artificial turf. And the underprivileged, impoverished public school children had somehow eluded fate and advanced into the next round. […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Auburn schools have 36 fewer students this year
AUBURN — Enrollment numbers for Auburn schools show there are 3,574 students this year, 36 fewer than last year. “We are not having the same excitement as Lewiston is having,” Superintendent Katy Grondin said. Lewiston was projected to receive 100 more students this year, but has 250 new students. Data from Grondin showed Edward Little […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
New Lewiston elementary school to be built at Franklin Pasture
LEWISTON — The School Committee will be asked Monday to approve a proposal to combine the pupils of Longley and Martel elementary schools at a school to be built at the Franklin Pasture Sports Complex at the Lewiston High School. The athletic fields will be relocated, according to Superintendent Bill Webster, blended into what will […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Lewiston-Auburn
Lewiston schools to offer free meals to all students
For students who eat lunch every day at school, that’s a $10 savings each week for a high school student, $7.55 a week for an elementary school student. Like a growing number of schools across the country, Lewiston is joining the so-called “Community Eligibility Provision,” created under the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 […]