A Sign Bearer at the May Day Rally in Portland Has an Important Message for President Trump..
A Governor Mills Supporter Sports A T-Shirt Made Famous by Her Immortal Words to President Trump: “See you in Court. ” The T-ees are Available at Little Chair Printing, Portland. All Proceeds are Donated to Charity.
Governor Janet T. Mills (D-ME) today joined governors from 16 states to call upon Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to release approximately $6.8 BILLION that the Trump Administration is withholding from schools and students across America, including in Maine.
In the letter, the governors detailed the impact of these missed payments on the nation’s education system and urged the Departmet to follow the law and fulfill their basic obligation to distribute funding appropriated by Congress accordng to a press release by the Governor’s office late today.
“By withholding these education funds, the president and his Administration are abandoning their responsibility to our students and harming families across our state,” said Governor Mills. “I am proud to join with my fellow governors to demand the release of this lawfu, bipartisan funding, to prevent Maine schools from cutting critical programs and ensure that our next generation can reach their full potential.”
Based on fiscal year 2025 grant awards, the Maine Department of Education estimates that $27.6 million is now being withheld from Maine school, students and educators. This funding support initiatives that include: $10.8 million for supporting effective instruction in more than 200 Maine school districts, through efforts to improve recruitment and retention of educators, reduction of class sizes and professional development for teachers and principals across the state; $6.6 million for student support and academic enrichment; $6.5 million for 21st Century Community Learning Centers to support approximately 60 after-school and summer learning programs for students and Maine famillies; $1.6 million for Adult Education Basic Grants to support more than 65 adult education programs in Maine.
The governors’ letter makes clear that delaying the release of these funds will have significant immediate and long-term consequences for learners at all levels and force school leaders to make impossible budgeting decisions without these promised and legally entitled federal funds, including postponing hiring or eliminating instructional positions. Students may also lose access to summer and after school programs, tutoring and language support.
A coalition of 24 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday over $6.8 billion in education funding that the administration has withheld a few weeks before the start of the school year according to an article in “The New York Times,” entitled “Group of 24 States Sues Trump Over $6.8 Billion Kept from Education.” President Trump has said repeatedly in the past that wants to eliminate the Department of education, arguing that education should be controlled by the states. However, only Congress can abolish a cabinet-level agency. The withholding of these funds has resulted in a growing chorus of criticism from Democrats.
One Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who represented an area north of New York City, was quoted in the same article as asking that Trump release $1.3 Billion of the funding to be used for after-school programs and other programs that keep childen occupied out-side of school hours, including in the summer.