Maine
Maine higher education leaders praise governor’s proposed budget
University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy speaks during a meeting of the University of Maine board of trustees at the University of Southern Maine in Portland on Monday. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald
Leaders of Maine’s public universities and community colleges are voicing support for Gov. Janet Mills’ proposed budget that includes a 4% increase for higher education and extends the state’s free community college program.
Mills released her proposed budget Friday. The two-year, $11.6 billion spending plan includes $25 million to extend the program she created in 2022 that offers Maine students free tuition at the state’s community colleges. It also includes a 4% increase in the higher education budget — up to $41 million — that will support the University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System and Maine Maritime Academy. The proposal also includes an additional $10 million to cover contributions to the newly established Paid Family Medical Leave program for public higher education employees.
During a meeting of the University of Maine System board of trustees Monday in Portland, Chancellor Dannel Malloy thanked the governor, but said there are still challenges ahead.
“That does not mean we’re home, by any stretch of the imagination. There are great fiscal challenges that have to be undertaken by the Legislature and the governor working together. But we’ve never had a start in the discussion, at least while I’ve been here, with the kind of the recommendation coming from the governor that is included in her recommendations,” he said.
His comments followed a joint statement issued Friday by the state’s three higher education systems, expressing strong support for the proposed budget.
David Daigler, president of the community college system, praised Mills’ decision to make the free community college program permanent by moving it into the state’s baseline budget. In the past, that funding has come from one-time allotments in each budget.
“This is a powerful statement to Maine students and families that the state is investing in them to build stronger families, a stronger workforce, and a better future for all Mainers,” Daigler said. “This funding is critical to continue the good work happening at Maine’s community colleges, supporting our faculty, adjuncts, staff and students.”
More than 17,000 students have enrolled in a Maine Community College tuition-free since the fall of 2022, according to the system. The state offers up to two years of tuition-free schooling to full-time students who received a high school diploma or GED.
The higher education leaders also celebrated the governor’s proposed support for their costs associated with the Paid Family Medical Leave program, which went into effect with the new year and imposes a 1% payroll tax that is equally split between employers and employees. Mills included $10 million in her budget to cover both the employer and employee contributions at public colleges and universities — roughly 12,200 people according to the statement.
In recent years, the University of Maine System has seen financial challenges like state funding that hasn’t kept up with inflation and declining enrollment. There was good news this school year, however, when the system reported a 3% growth in undergraduate and graduate students, the first year-over-year increase in decades.
Daigler and Malloy co-authored a budget request to Mills in the fall, asking for the continued community college tuition program, increased funding to respond to rising operating costs, and greater higher education infrastructure investments. The state university and community college systems and Maine Maritime have a combined $2 billion in deferred maintenance.
Interim Maine Maritime Academy President Craig Johnson also celebrated the proposed budget. The Castine-based public college is focused on marine engineering, science and transportation, and enrolls about 950 students.
“Maine Maritime Academy is uniquely positioned to offer an academic experience and workforce training that propels our students into successful post-graduate careers all over the world and in Maine,” Johnson said. “We fully recognize the financial challenges facing our state and applaud the support for both our ongoing programs and the mission-critical capital projects underway to support our students.”
Many Maine municipalities will open cooling centers this week with the National Weather Service issuing a variety of heat advisories covering the next few days.
The Maine DEP also issued an air quality alert for Wednesday with ground-level ozone expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
All of York County, interior Cumberland and Androscoggin counties, and the southern half of Oxford County will fall under an extreme heat warning from 11 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Friday.
The warning calls for “dangerously hot conditions” that could feature heat index values of up to 110 degrees, with overnight lows only expected to fall into the 70s, according to the weather service’s office in Gray.
The rest of the state — save northern Aroostook, Piscataquis and Somerset counties — falls under a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. However, the weather service has also placed much of the state under an extreme heat watch for Thursday.
Heat index values, which measure how hot it feels to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature, are expected to reach up to 104 degrees during the heat advisory period, the weather service warns. They could reach 110 degrees Thursday, when the extreme heat watch is in effect.
Northern Oxford and Franklin counties, and central Somerset County, can expect a heat index value of up to 99 degrees Wednesday, according to the weather service.
The weather service advises people to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms when possible, avoid extended periods in the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors. It also warns not to leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles, as “car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.”
Cooling Centers
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has also issued an air quality alert from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Wednesday along the coast from Kittery to Acadia National Park. The agency warns that ground-level ozone concentrations are expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Ozone levels may reach “moderate levels” further inland, according to the Maine DEP, including in all of Androscoggin and Kennebec counties, as well as parts of Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Penobscot, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington and York counties.
Elevated ozone levels can pose a risk to children, older adults and people suffering from respiratory or heart diseases, according to the Maine DEP. Anyone exerting themselves outdoors may also experience health effects, which could include coughing, shortness of breath, throat irritation and mild chest pain.
Ozone levels were already climbing in southern New England on Tuesday, according to the Maine DEP, and winds are expected to bring those conditions to Maine on Wednesday.
The Maine DEP recommends that vulnerable populations avoid strenuous outdoor activities, keep windows closed, and circulate indoor air with fans or air conditioners. Those with asthma are also advised to keep quick-relief medication handy.
Particle pollution levels are also expected to be moderate across the state on Wednesday due to wildfire smoke, the Maine DEP said in its announcement Tuesday. Wildfires in Colorado, which have claimed the lives of three firefighters, had burned nearly 90,000 acres as of Tuesday, according to the Denver Post.
Maine could face up to $50 million in penalties next year due to errors in its payments for federal food benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Newly released data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture find that Maine’s error rate last year was nearly 11%, the bulk of which were overpayments. That’s in line with the U.S. average. But starting in October of next year, states with error rates above 6% must cover a portion of the SNAP benefits.
Anna Korsen, executive director of Full Plates, Full Potential, said the overpayments aren’t fraud — they’re human error. She said this new cost-shifting policy enacted last year under the Trump administration further complicates the SNAP application process.
“Instead, we could make this program more accessible and more efficient,” Korsen said. “And that would reduce the number of errors and also ensure that Mainers who are eligible for SNAP have access to it.”
She’s urging Congress to delay or reverse the policy under the farm bill that’s currently under consideration.
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services said it’s taking steps to reduce the error rate, including modernizing its systems and hiring an additional 40 eligibility specialists.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
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