The arithmetic isn’t hard. Any third grader in Maine could figure out the answer to this problem. Yet, the answer seems to have eluded their state fathers and mothers!
Dwindling state revenues are forcing state officials to make massive cuts — millions of dollars — in the state’s share of funding for K-12 education in Maine’s public schools. At the same time, the federal Department of Education is getting ready to hand out hundreds of millions of dollars to states in the Race to the Top program.
But not to Maine. MPBN reports that Maine will be standing in the corner, likely ineligible to receive our share. Why? Because we are one of the few states left in America where charter schools are not allowed. Indeed, in a recent, bipartisan joint report that reviewed programs in all 50 states, conservative and progressive national think tanks ranked Maine’s K-12 education performance near the bottom, concluding that “Maine does a poor job managing its schools in a way that encourages thoughtful innovation.” (Read the entire report here. Click on the map of Maine to see the report on Maine.)
All states are suffering today. But while other states will find some federal funds landing in their coffers to ease the pain in local school districts, Maine won’t. Can’t our state leaders add and subtract?
Now would be a good time for the Maine Legislature to re-examine the policy prohibiting charter schools…and to fix it.
Tags: charter schools, Education Reform