This week is a bit of a breather for the legislature. The House and Senate are off this week, but some policy committees are meeting. The committees I am on – Education and Regulatory Fairness and Reform Committee – will meet this week.
Community Event
Last Friday, Governor LePage visited the Preble Street Resource Center to meet with constituents and homeless advocates. The major topic of conversation was the proposed biennial budget and, more specifically, general assistance. In the Governor’s budget, general assistance would be limited to one month of service or $602 per calendar year. This policy would be devastating to those families and individuals on the edge of homelessness. Over 1,600 rentals, that’s 2,700 people, use some form of general assistance as a last resort in order to have a home.
This glaring problem was brought to the Governor’s attention and he indicated it was not his intention to have this provision apply to Maine residents, only to non-residents applying for help. The Governor pledged to correct this, and his spokesman reiterated the Governor’s promise. This is a huge relief to both families and homeless shelters who would have seen a spike in those seeking meals and shelter. I will be follow up with the Governor this week to ensure this change is made.
Inside Augusta
Last week, Governor LePage announced his nominee for Commissioner of Education, Steve Bowen. Mr. Bowen’s résumé includes teaching social studies in middle and high schools in Virginia and Maine prior to joining the Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC) in 2007. At the MHPC, Mr. Bowen was the director for the Center for Education Excellence. Mr. Bowen produced research and reports on education policy issues from school choice and charter schools to school finance and school district consolidation.
Last week, I voiced grave concerns about the Governor’s nominee; I do not believe he is qualified to lead the Department of Education (DOE). Mr. Bowen does not have any experience with budgets (the DOE budget is close to $2 billion) or management (the DOE has 130 employees). Next, Mr. Bowen does not have any relationships with Maine’s superintendents, principals or teachers; this could make meaningful reform difficult. Finally, Mr. Bowen has worked with Maine’s most partisan conservative think-tank for nearly three years. During his tenure at the MHPC, he consistently denigrated our students successes, teachers, and our educational system.
I spoke with WGAN’s Ken and Mike on Friday about Mr. Bowen. You can listen to that interview here. (MP3)
Democratic Weekly Address
On Saturday, I spoke for elected Democrats on our weekly address to the State of Maine. My theme was our broken promises to our teachers and retired state workers. The Governor’s proposed biennial budget cuts $524 million dollars to fund other initiatives. I know that this proposal is not workable for our state employees and I look forward to working with my Republican colleagues to create a reasonable alternative.
Click here to read my comments and listen to my address.
Closing
As always, I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great rest of your week.
-Justin
