Daughtry introduces bill to provide additional funding for Maine Community College System

AUGUSTA – On Monday, Sen. Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, introduced a bill to support student success and improve graduation rates. LD 447, “An Act to Support Higher Education in Maine by Providing Funds to Maine’s Community Colleges,” was the subject of a public hearing in the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.

“Maine’s community college students face unique challenges. They are older than ‘traditional’ college students, receive some form of grant aid, and are more likely to be first-generation college students. In other words, they have many obligations and responsibilities, including caring for their children (or finding and affording child care), looking after their aging parents, paying increasing rent, and figuring how much gas they can use or groceries they can buy each week. Just standing here and listing all these things, I can understand how these students could feel overwhelmed and need some extra support,” said Sen. Daughtry. “The funding included in this bill represents an investment in MCCS, and the students who enroll in those colleges, that will literally help determine Maine’s future. Let’s give these students – these future nurses, teachers and workers – the extra support that they need and deserve.”

LD 447 would provide ongoing funds to the Maine Community College System to support students’ learning and completion for a credential of value. In particular, some of these funds will be directed to help students whose academics were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill appropriates $5 million each year for the next two fiscal years, through 2025.

“This bill will help students who attend Maine’s Community Colleges to finish their degrees and be prepared to enter the Maine workforce,” said Jason Judd, the Executive Director of Educate Maine, in testimony supporting the bill. “Although Maine has invested significantly in helping students enroll in community college programs, we must do more to help make sure students have the supports to persist from semester to semester and finish their degrees. These supports include high quality advising, tutoring, career guidance, and other necessary supports.”

The Maine State Chamber of Commerce also testified in support of the bill.

The bill faces further action in committee.