Yesterday Governor Mills unveiled her Administration’s Part 2 budget for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2023 biennium, a proposal that makes a historic investment in Maine public schools and meets the State’s obligation to pay 55 percent of the cost of PreK-12 education for the first time in Maine’s history.

If approved by the Legislature, the achievement would come more than fifteen years after Maine voters first passed a referendum directing State government to pay 55 percent of local school costs. The Governor’s proposal would not only meet the State’s obligation for the first time ever, but would also increase desperately-needed resources for cash-strapped schools and hold down local property taxes.

Additionally, her proposal includes $50 million to rejuvenate the School Revolving Renovation Fund, which provides no-interest loans for school repairs across the state. This would be Governor Mills’ second investment in the fund, extending her commitment to upgrading Maine’s school facilities and providing further property tax relief for Maine families.

Further information and the revised subsidy amount, based on the proposed budget increases, will be forthcoming. We are hopeful that the Legislature will support this proposal, on behalf of Maine schools and the students you serve.

“Today is a historic day for students, educators, and the people of Maine. For more than 15 years, educators around the state have called for 55 percent State funding for our schools. The purpose was to ensure a basic level of funding for our public schools, so we can have well-resourced public schools available to all children, regardless of their zip codes, while also keeping property taxes in check,” said Grace Leavitt, President of the Maine Education Association. “The proposal from Governor Mills today finally recognizes what the voters demanded in 2004 and then again in 2016, via ballot initiatives. The people have spoken, and Governor Mills is delivering – for Maine’s students, for our communities, and for our educators. The MEA applauds the Governor’s proposal.  We look forward to celebrating this historic achievement once it is passed by the Legislature and to continuing to work with the Department of Education and other education organizations to support our students and public education in Maine.”

“Today’s announcement exemplifies the kind of leadership and commitment to education that Maine students deserve from their Governor,” said Eileen King, Executive Director of Maine School Superintendents Association. “Governor Mills is upholding a promise and the will of Maine people to support and prioritize our schools. This will have both immediate and long-term benefits for our schools, communities and students, and demonstrates the importance of delivering on our promises and investing in our future.”

“This is incredible news for School Boards who have been working on budgets and trying to do the right thing for students, staff and our taxpayers,” said Steven Bailey, Executive Director of the Maine School Boards Association. “The Governor’s decision to fully fund the State share couldn’t have come at a better time. We know there are people in our communities who have always supported their local schools, but saw their income drop this year because of COVID-19.  This additional support for education from the state will be greatly welcomed.”

“Immediately upon taking office, Governor Mills made Maine’s public education system a top priority, investing in a minimum teacher salary of $40,000, increasing the State’s contribution to offset local education costs, and allocating millions of dollars to local schools for pandemic response. The Mills Administration has championed equity and excellence for all students while elevating professional respect and opportunities for educators and school leaders,” said Pender Makin, Commissioner for the Department of Education. “Today, at a time when the value of local public education has never been more clear, we move to a bold and unprecedented commitment of funding as Governor Mills aims to become the first and only leader to achieve Maine’s long-sought goal of 55 percent contribution to the total cost of pre-K through grade 12 public education. For nearly two decades, the incremental funding targets shifted, extending the timeline further into the future with each biennium, leaving a disproportionate cost for local taxpayers. Today, with this historic announcement, Governor Mills fulfills a long overdue promise to Maine students and schools – and to the communities they serve.”

Androscoggin County remains yellow; All other counties green.

AUGUSTA — The Mills Administration today released an update to its color-coded Health Advisory System that classifies counties’ relative risk of COVID-19 transmission to assist schools as they continue with their efforts to deliver instruction and support students safely.

Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) assessed COVID-19 data and trends for all counties and released the following designations:

• YELLOW: Androscoggin County continues to have an elevated new case rate of 77 cases per 10,000 residents,  more than double the statewide average.
• NOW GREEN: The new case rates in Kennebec, Oxford, and Somerset counties have fallen by at least 20 percent, and their positivity rates are below 5 percent.
• All other counties remain green, including Franklin and York, which were closely monitored in the last update but have since shown improvements.

These designations are made out of an abundance of caution and for the consideration of school administrative units in their decisions to deliver instruction. DHHS and Maine CDC continue to review evidence that indicates lower transmission of COVID-19 in schools compared to the general population.

Over the last 30 days, the rate of new cases for school staff and students has remained steady at 46 per 10,000, about 40 percent lower than a new case rate of 78 per 10,000 for the general population.

This continues to demonstrate that in-person learning in schools that follow public health precautions can be conducted safely, without increased transmission of COVID-19, when schools use proven health and safety protocols and resources.

The Health Advisory System categorizations are defined as follows:

• RED: Categorization as “red” suggests that the county has a high risk of COVID-19 spread and that in-person instruction is not advisable.
• YELLOW: Categorization as “yellow” suggests that that the county has an elevated risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider additional precautions and/or hybrid instructional models to reduce the number of people in schools and classrooms at any one time.
• GREEN: Categorization as “green” suggests that the county has a relatively low risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider in-person instruction, as long as they are able to implement the required health and safety measures.  Schools in a “green” county may need to use hybrid instruction models if there is insufficient capacity or other factors (facilities, staffing, geography/transportation, etc.) that may prevent full implementation of the health and safety requirements.

The county-level assessments are based on both quantitative and qualitative data, including but not limited to recent case rates, positivity rates, and syndromic data (e.g., symptoms of influenza or COVID-19). Those data are publicly posted every week on the Maine CDC website. DHHS and Maine CDC also consider qualitative factors, such as the presence of outbreaks that may potentially affect school-age children.

The Health Advisory System reflects ongoing analysis of evolving data, and serves as one piece of information that school and district leaders can use to make decisions about how to deliver education during the school year. The qualitative and quantitative considerations and data used by the CDC in determining community transmission risk levels for schools can be located here: How County Risk Levels for Maine Schools are Determined

The Health Advisory System can be found on the Maine DOE website in Part I of the Framework for Reopening Schools and Returning to In-Person Classroom Instruction: https://www.maine.gov/doe/framework/part-I.

Maine schools have been safely open since the fall by adhering to the six requirements for returning to in-person instruction and by following the protocols for identifying close contacts that are found in the Standard Operating Procedure for a positive case in schools, regardless of their county color designation.

The next update will be provided on May 21, 2021. Updating this advisory on a two-week basis aligns with the incubation period for COVID-19 and allows for greater stability in the trend data for small counties.

###