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On November 4th many of us will have the opportunity to cast our ballots and express our opinions. Of the six propositions being considered, proposition 1 has the potential to affect university students most. For any university student who doesn’t want tuition to increase, 1C is the best choice.
Proposition 1 has three parts: 1A, a citizens initiative, sponsored by the Maine Municipal Association (a lobbyist for town managers and councilors); 1B the competing measure, proposed by the governor; and 1C, against both the Citizens Initiative and the Competing Measure.
1A would require the state to give an additional 250 million dollars to towns for K-12 education in the next fiscal period. This would require the state legislation to make immediate cuts in the funding of other programs and services, such as higher education. The University of Maine would see its state funding shrink, for the first time in years.
1B would gradually increase the state’s share of funding for K-12, to a target of 55% in 2010. If the state has positive economic growth, all increases in state revenue will need to go to these gradual increases in K-12 education funding.
If 1C passes, tuition will not increase, at least not because more state funds are going to town governments. Students, vote 1C and help keep tuition down!
The Maine Legislature is already under a strain, due to the budget cut last year. It is short-sighted to create a large commitment to primary and secondary education, with the future of Maine’s economy being so uncertain. If the state’s revenues ever fail to keep up with rising costs, our state will find itself in a tight position.
According to the Maine Dept. of Education, in the 2001-02 school year, 56% of K-12 education funds came from local property taxes while 44% was provided through state funds. 1A would increase the state’s portion to 55% or roughly 250 million dollars in the next fiscal period. This is slated as an effort to provide “property tax relief”, by local government having to fund a smaller portion of K-12 education.
The only certainty about 1A, is that 250 million additional dollars would be distributed to towns, at the expense of the state budget. With this money, the ideal result would be for towns to lower property taxes, however town officials may not chose this option. Proposition 1A does not require town officials to pass the savings they will receive on education directly to the local taxpayer. The town manager and councilors will decide how to spend or save that money. Citizens who choose to attend their town’s council meetings will have an opportunity to persuade their elected officials in a certain direction, but that is all.
Maine is a state with a small population, a large geographic area, and one of the lowest population densities in the country. Due to this, Maine residents face higher costs to deliver the same level of public services than in many other states.
If small towns located close to one another, agreed to come together and share public services such as libraries, schools, town administrations (to name a few) and set aside rivalries, they all would benefit in the long- run by a lower cost for those services.
All university students are stakeholders in the outcome of proposition 1. If 1A passes, students will face the strong possibility of a tuition increase. 1B also creates this possibility, just not as dramatically. Both concentrate a significant amount of state money into one area, when many other programs and services need funding.
So, even if you’re still hung over, when Tuesday rolls around, stumble up to the DTAV Community Center, and cast your vote for 1C and spend all those hard-earned dollars on something other than tuition!
Cortlynn Hepler is a 4th year Psychology and Financial Economics double major
