RADIO ADDRESS: The Legislature must do more to ensure our children make it safely to adulthood

What does it take to ensure that all Maine children can grow up to be successful and productive adults? Is it a quality early education, regular access to nutritious food, access to health care, or safe schools free from toxic chemicals and violence?

Hello, this is Senator Rebecca Millett. Thanks for tuning in.

I have given this question a lot of thought over the past five and a half years of my service as senator, but in the past few weeks, it has taken on a whole new level of urgency between the horrific events that took place in Parkland, Florida, the continued threats against our schools here in Maine, and the shocking death of Marissa Kennedy. Although each of these incidents differs in scale, scope, and severity, they all underscore a similar theme: we are failing our kids.

As a lawmaker and most importantly a parent, I find this unacceptable. It is our responsibility as adults, to make sure our children make it to adulthood safely and successfully. Enough is enough; it is time for action.

However, with not much time left in the Legislative Session and a lack of political will to enact substantial change, let’s focus on promoting the health, safety, and security of our kids at school. This is something that we all should be able to agree on.

As we head towards the end of the session, I have several bills awaiting approval by my colleagues in the Legislature that increase access to existing funds so schools can have more resources to make critical health and safety upgrades. The first bill would require all schools to test drinking and cooking water for lead contamination. We know that no level of lead is safe for our children. Lead exposure can have serious long-term consequences on the developing brain of a child. And we know lead contamination doesn’t just happen in other states, it has happened here. Several schools around the state have found that the lead levels in the water surpass federal standards.

My bill would require schools to test for the presence of lead early on and act quickly to mitigate the problem. Now that it has passed its first hurdle and received a positive vote out of Committee, it moves to the floor of the Senate for an initial vote. I am hopeful my colleagues will join me in protecting our children from lead poisoning in our schools’ water.

Late last month, the Legislative Council approved my after-deadline bill request to strengthen the safety and security of our children at school. At the most basic level, we must make sure our schools have the resources they need to make critical security upgrades. My bill makes technical changes to the School Revolving Renovation Fund to prioritize funding for school safety and security upgrades. This existing fund helps schools pay for building and facility projects on a case-by-case basis. However, the current law does not specifically refer to critical security updates. This bill will make funding for security upgrades for school buildings a tier one priority and help keep Maine children safe in their classrooms. I expect this bill to receive a public hearing in the coming weeks.

Lastly, I am also in support of two bonds before the Legislature’s Appropriation and Financial Affairs Committee that would allocate additional dollars for this critical fund. These bonds have bipartisan support and I am hopeful we can put them before the voters this fall.

To be clear, I know there is a lot more we need to do to improve outcomes for Maine children. But this is a start, and it is something that we can work with our colleagues across the aisle to actually pass.

So, what does it take to ensure that all Maine children can grow up to be successful and productive adults? The answer is really all of the above. If we want a strong and thriving Maine, we need to make sure all of our kids have what they need from birth through adulthood to lead healthy and safe lives.

This is Senator Rebecca Millett, thank you for listening.

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