Sen. Libby and Rep. Brooks: Better Deal for Maine proves best for Lewiston schools

Posted: April 16, 2015 | News Items, Senator Libby, Taxation

Lewiston School Department will receive $385,756 more under Democrats’ Better Deal for Maine

AUGUSTA – The Lewiston School Department will receive $385,756 more in education funding in 2015-2016 under the Democratic Better Deal for Maine than under Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed state budget.

A new analysis of the two plans by the Maine Education Association indicates that Lewiston will receive $45,400,699 under the Better Deal for Maine, compared with $45,014,944 under the governor’s budget. The analysis, based on state Department of Education data, revealed that no school district in Maine fares better under the LePage proposal than under the Better Deal for Maine.

“I am pleased to see a plan that is focused on investing in Maine people,” said Sen. Nate Libby, D-Lewiston. “This boost to our schools is a smart investment and good news for our students and community.”

The Better Deal for Maine provides an additional $20 million in state education funding while the LePage budget shortchanges investment in schools and other foundational pieces of a strong, sustainable economy, such as public safety, transportation, job training and health care.

The governor’s budget puts tax breaks for Maine’s wealthiest individuals and corporations ahead of tax cuts for working families and will result in increased property taxes. The Better Deal for Maine rejects the trickle-down economics that have failed us time and time again and instead builds the economy from the middle out and invests in the very areas like schools, job training and health care that lift up families. It lowers property taxes for all Maine families and invests in our schools and workers by asking the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share.

Unlike the LePage budget, the Better Deal for Maine is fully paid for now and into the future. The LePage proposal will leave a $300 million hole in the state’s budget starting in 2018. With education funding making up 35 percent of the state budget, there will be no choice but to force cuts to schools.

“A Better Deal for Maine is a better deal for our children and the entire community,” said Rep. Heidi Brooks, D-Lewiston. “Funding public education is an essential investment in our future.  The Better Deal sends extra funds to schools without shifting costs to property taxpayers.”

Elsewhere in the United States, in states like Kansas and Louisiana, these kind of top-down economic policies resulted in fiscal crisis and deep cuts to schools.

The full analysis of education funding under the LePage budget and the Better Deal for Maine is available at http://maine.nea.org/assets/document/ME/BETTERDEALANALYSIS.pdf.

The Better Deal for Maine also does the following:

  • Puts more money in the pockets of Maine families: Cuts property taxes by $120 million annually for Maine residents by doubling the Homestead Exemption for all Maine homeowners and by increasing the Property Tax Fairness Credit by more than $57 million per year.
  • Prevents property tax hikes: Increases revenue sharing to $80 million each year for local services like police, fire, and public works, while rejecting the governor’s new taxes on non-profits.
  • Targets income tax cuts for the middle class: Cuts income taxes by hundreds of dollars for the vast majority of Maine families while asking the wealthiest 5 percent to pay their fair share. Under the Better Deal for Maine, 98 percent of income tax cuts go to the bottom 95 percent of taxpayers. Under the governor’s plan, 50 percent of the tax break goes to the top 10 percent.