By REP. MARC MALON | Special to the Gazette
Strong public schools are essential for strong communities.
When we think about the pressures facing our school district and the accompanying pressure on local property taxpayers, an important factor is something called the Essential Programs and Services (EPS) formula, better known as the school-funding formula.
The EPS formula is quite complex, but it impacts every family in our community, whether or not they have kids who attend our public schools. The current formula is flawed, and Biddeford has been disadvantaged by it for years as a result.
Let me explain why.
Current state law, as mandated by the voters in a 2003 referendum, requires the state to fund 55 percent of the total cost of public education. But that 55 percent isn’t distributed to every district evenly. This is where the formula comes into play.
Ideally, funding to school districts would be distributed proportionally according to need, but the current formula does not reflect those needs in many instances.
According to current data, 64.3 percent of Biddeford students in our school district are economically disadvantaged. This is one of the highest poverty rates of any school district in Maine.
Students experiencing poverty are more likely to experience health issues that lead to higher absentee rates and food insecurity, and they are more likely to experience housing instability. All of these factors, both on their own and combined – as they often are – increase the need for school-based services to support these students so that they do not fall behind.
But despite our high poverty rate, Biddeford only receives a 37.72 percent share of the costs of education from the state, putting us $2,166 below the state average of spending per-pupil. This means other districts with far lower poverty rates are receiving a higher share of state funding. How is this fair?
According to current data, 64.3 percent of Biddeford students in our school district are economically disadvantaged. This is one of the highest poverty rates of any school district in Maine.
This underfunding of our schools puts greater pressure on our school district to provide the support our students need and to make the educational experience of all students as strong as possible. Underfunding doesn’t only hurt kids experiencing poverty – it creates a resource squeeze which increases the possibility that other kids will be left behind, too.
Our teachers and staff are dedicated individuals who do amazing work, but there are only so many of them, and only so many hours in the day. When they are asked to do more with less, our community suffers for it.
Students are not the only ones who suffer for it – property taxpayers do too, which also impacts renters. This underfunding from the state forces our local district to make up for the gaps as best we can, which falls on taxpayers, creating rising costs and greater pressure on our tax base.
Fortunately, the Legislature has the opportunity to improve things for Biddeford and other communities in similar circumstances. First, lawmakers should vote to support Governor Mills’s proposal in the supplemental budget to appropriate $46 million in state funds to maintain state funding at 55 percent.
Every dollar the state commits to funding is a dollar towns do not need to raise in property taxes.
Second, lawmakers should also vote to support LD 2226, which would reform the school funding formula to benefit communities like Biddeford that have high poverty rates but are low-receivers of state funds.
The Education Committee worked hard on this measure. Any changes to the school funding formula have statewide ripple effects. But they got it done and unanimously supported an amended version of the bill. If this version passes, it is likely to bring approximately $2 million in additional funding to Biddeford schools. It would be a game-changer. I am committed to supporting it every step of the way.
The Education Committee worked hard on this measure. Any changes to the school funding formula have statewide ripple effects.
This issue is important to me personally, as I have two kids who attend Biddeford public schools. But it impacts all of us, regardless of whether we have kids in school. Strong public schools are an essential part of the fabric of any community. When our schools help all kids thrive regardless of their circumstances at home, it benefits everyone.
I was impressed by the coalition which developed to support these proposed reforms. It included Democrats like myself and Republicans like Rep. Tiffany Strout and Rep. Will Tuell from Washington County. It included superintendents – including very effective advocacy from Jeremy Ray – and the Maine Education Association. And it included parents and school committee members from very different parts of the state.
This issue united groups who do not always see eye to eye because we recognized the fundamental unfairness of how schools were funded in Maine.
Let’s support our kids and our schools and get this done.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Rep. Marc Malon is serving his second term in the Maine House representing a portion of Biddeford. He serves as a member of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee and the Housing and Economic Development Committee. He can be reached via email at marc.malon@legislature.maine.gov
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