Maine college systems explain how students benefit from supplemental budget

AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) – With bipartisan assist and the stroke of Governor Mills’ pen Wednesday, Maine college students now have extra reasonably priced choices to get a school schooling.

TV5 spoke with representatives from each the College of Maine System and Maine Neighborhood School System to study extra concerning the adjustments coming their manner.

“The impression is actually large for the state and for the workforce alternatives,” mentioned David Daigler, Maine Neighborhood School System president.

As a part of Maine’s supplemental funds, $20 million in funding will present as much as two years of free in-state group school. The profit applies to highschool graduates from the lessons of 2020 via 2023.

“School attendance, and particularly group school attendance, has fallen off dramatically through the pandemic. We will monitor that decline in enrollment to a few of our lowest earnings households in Maine and among the college students who’ve the best monetary want and among the biggest alternative to learn,” Daigler mentioned.

One other $2.5 million will broaden the Maine Neighborhood School System’s six nursing packages, permitting for as many as double nursing graduates.

“If you happen to’re a highschool scholar and also you aspire to be a nurse, the job alternatives to be a nurse are unimaginable. However, to be able to be a nurse, it’s important to sit for boards and cross a take a look at. To be able to sit for these boards, it’s important to have a school diploma,” Daigler mentioned. “If you happen to apply this yr popping out of highschool, you’ll have the chance to get these nursing levels with out having to pay tuition or charges.”

College of Maine System college students are reaping the advantages of the funds, too. Due to virtually $8 million in funding, there will likely be no in-state tuition improve for the seventh time within the final 12 years.

“We had meant to go to the trustees with a modest tuition improve this yr, someplace within the 2.5-3% vary. We’ll get the equal quantity of what a tuition improve would’ve been in income from the state, and in trade for that, we’ll maintain tuition flat for an additional yr,” mentioned Ryan Low, vice chancellor for finance and administration at UMS.

Low says the System is grateful that each events within the legislature, together with Governor Mills, made reasonably priced schooling a precedence.

“We all know that we’ve got high quality packages and so having the ability to supply actually reasonably priced schooling, and high quality, we predict positions us rather well and positions the state properly,” Low mentioned.

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