Shortchanging schools to provide tax breaks for the rich

In 2004, Maine voters directed the state to pay 55 percent of the cost of public K-12 education. LePage denied the mandate every year he was in office. Instead of meeting the state’s obligations, LePage redistributed $631 million in revenue to the wealthiest Mainers through tax breaks, leaving local communities on the hook for the balance.1 The budgets passed during LePage’s terms shortchanged Maine schools by more than $1.4 billion and Maine towns were left to cover the shortfall through property tax increases or program cuts. Even when voters returned to the polls in 2016 to demand the state meet its funding obligation with a 3 percent surcharge on income over $200,000, LePage refused its implementation. Instead, he tried to siphon even more state funding away from public education and into private and religious schools. 

Harming vulnerable students

LePage's cut and gut approach hit families with low income especially hard. In addition to state funding shortfalls that resulted in many communities raising property tax rates or cutting services, LePage simultaneously worked to disqualify Mainers from food assistance programs. During his tenure, Maine households were ranked among the hungriest in the country. Although research shows hunger negatively impacts educational outcomes, LePage railed against stagnating test scores while simultaneously blocking efforts to feed food insecure students. LePage not only bungled the implementation of a federal program to expand access to school meals, he vetoed legislation encouraging school districts to utilize federal funding to feed hungry kids in summer. LePage also vetoed a Student Loan Bill of Rights that would have protected Maine students as complaints against predatory lending practices soared.  

Honoring commitments and expanding access