Quite often we hear politicians and special interests say that the quality of a child’s education should not be determined…
Browsing: education
A lawmaker from Portland appears to have a personal vendetta against public charter schools. Rep. Michael Brennan is sponsoring a…
A few weeks ago, my radio address focused on the unsustainability of the biennial budget proposed by Governor Mills. Since…
High school guidance counselors, parents and popular culture have spent decades telling young people that the key to success is…
The Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC) on Monday released a new analysis of Gov. Janet Mills’ biennial budget proposal during…
Senator Rebecca Millett, the chair of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee, has introduced LD 898, “An Act to Provide…
On Thursday, Feb. 14 the legislature’s education committee held a public hearing on a bill, LD 464, that would greatly…
During the biennial budget battle in 2017 that led to Maine’s first government shutdown since 1991, lawmakers agreed to spend…
It is no secret that the Mills administration and legislative Democrats are planning to launch a big push for a…
It’s no secret that Maine’s public K-12 education system needs work. Bloated bureaucracies keep money from flowing to the classroom.…
It’s the political season and a lot of misinformation is flying around. I want to make sure you have the…
In 2010, The Maine Heritage Policy Center shared an article titled, “School Choice working for Alna, therefore must be stopped.”…
When it comes to the student loan debt crisis, government-oriented reforms are not the solution; they are the problem. One…
Something beautiful happened this week – something that should scare every elected official who thinks their opinions supersede those of…
On Monday, April 9, at 1:30 p.m., Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs will hold public hearing…
Education in Maine is captive to progressive administrative and structural stagnation. Our educational system has become the dream of progressive theorists…
James D. Herbert’s Feb. 11 column in the Portland Press Herald, “Are We Just Another Echo Chamber?” drew less attention than one…
Maine’s experimental education model, proficiency-based learning, has received strong pushback in recent weeks from various communities around the state as…
When conservatives in Augusta pushed to implement the law enabling charter schools in Maine in 2011, their goal was to…
After years of fixing Maine’s balance sheet, now is the time to make investments in our economy. During this past…
Democrats can pretend to have made out like bandits in budget negotiations, but it’s no enigma who truly won the…
The Common Core State Standards, since their adoption in 2011, have been an expensive and harmful experiment that threatens Maine’s…
Too much money can hide a lot of problems. Well, we spend more and more money every year on education,…
Leave it to the editorial team at the Bangor Daily News to constantly promote the liberal agenda by misrepresenting facts…
Yes, I know, I know. This past November, voters narrowly passed a referendum presented by liberal special interest groups that…
I agree with Governor LePage. Teachers should be paid what they are worth. More broadly, everyone should be paid what…
Good teachers are critical to Maine’s future, so let’s pay them adequately. Our children are our most valuable asset, and…
Every child is unique. What may work for one, will in many cases not work for another. When it comes…
As today’s world evolves toward a more progressive education system, it seems that we are struggling to catch on in…
Governor LePage on Question 2 harming Maine’s economyGovernor LePage explains Question 2 – the referendum on increasing taxes which will…
Passage of Question 2 would catapult Maine from its newly established position in the middle of the pack to one…
On October 19, Garrett Martin, executive director of the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), published an article on Question 2 that…
At this point in the election cycle we all understand fully the union special interests behind Question 2. A ballot…
The Maine Education Association (MEA) has used out of state funds to place job-crushing Question 2 on the November ballot…
Hi, I’m Ernie Copley. I’m a college business teacher and a financial planner in Maine. Recently, I read a position…
Maine’s citizen’s initiative process promotes civic engagement and gives every day Mainers a direct participatory role in our democracy. Over…
If you’re from the town of Sebago, Lincolnville, Greenwood, Bremen, Newry, Machiasport, or Jonesport, Question 2 should worry you immensely.…
Ancient wisdom assumed that any bird would have sense enough to avoid a trap set right in front of it.…
One of the arguments we continue to hear against Questions 2 is that we all want Maine schools to be…
We are reminded once again by this year’s Referendum Question 2 that it is time for parents to become a…
As if it comes as any surprise, there is something remarkably hypocritical about a stance many liberals running for re-election…
Many liberal groups, including the Maine People’s Alliance, the Maine Center for Economic Policy and the Economic Policy Institute, assert…
This week, the Maine School Management Association (MSMA) – a nonprofit comprised of the Maine School Boards Association and the…
This year, Maine voters will face an array of ballot measures, replete with fine print that no one fully understands.…
We all agree more money should go directly into the classroom to benefit students and teachers. But Question 2 on…
*The following essay placed second in the 2016 Milton Friedman Essay Contest Lilly F., Matthew Gagnon “Few institutions in our society are…
*The following essay placed third in the 2016 Milton Friedman Essay Contest As the quality and value of education in public…
The Maine Education Association has a tremendous influence on legislators in Augusta. But make no mistake: the MEA’s mission has…
The biggest – and one of the most dangerous – myths in all of public policy is that money improves…
A cone was excavated by the French at the site of ancient Lagash, a prehistoric city located in Mesopotamia. The…
“When school children start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.” – Albert Shanker -…
As with the rest of life, if something in the political world sounds too good to be true, then it…
The Maine Education Association is putting a dishonest initiative on the November ballot. They call it “Stand Up for Students,”…
This November, Maine voters will decide on an initiative to provide further public education funding through an additional surcharge of…
Last week, Governor Paul LePage delivered a letter to the 127th Legislature vetoing LD 1492, “An Act To Establish a…
LD 1343 among five bills aimed at helping Maine veterans passed as part of comprehensive amendment Augusta – This morning,…
Growing up within the public school system, I dreaded the days or weeks when we had standardized tests. Sitting and…
It is common etiquette to buy someone a beverage of choice or dinner when they render a service for you,…
It appears that State legislative leaders and Governor Paul LePage may finally reach an agreement on the critical tax conformity…
I graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in mathematics not knowing what my next move would be.…
If there were ever any doubt that Democrats in the Maine House of Representatives are willing to kill tax conformity…
Today, Governor Paul LePage announced that he was withdrawing, albeit temporarily, the nomination of Dr. Bill Beardsley as commissioner of…
As a parent, I believe the three most lasting gifts we can give our kids are unconditional love, a sound…
Sixty years ago Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman argued that just because we finance education through government that does not…
The push to rid Maine of the controversial Common Core State Standards suffered a setback on Monday, as the Legislature’s…
On behalf of our children, Maine has made a major positive step forward by initiating the removal of the Smarter…
No two children are alike—so why must we insist upon educating them like they are? Common Core isn’t necessarily a…
Public education is getting a 21st Century shake-up. Back in September, Maine’s very first virtual charter school, Maine Connections Academy,…
It was with reserved optimism that I accepted a post on the Standards Review Panel. I was informed that this…
“Youth comes but once in a lifetime,” said Maine’s own poet and educator Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. As a two term…
In the Midwestern United States, one charter school’s approach to blended learning was ambitious right from the start. The first…
By No Common Core Maine — The chair of Maine’s State Board of Education, Peter Geiger, wrote recently (see here)…
In an Arizona desert town near the Mexico and California borders, an innovative charter school is changing the way American…
In southeast Denver, Colorado, one young public charter school is using blended learning to serve at-risk elementary school children –…
LEWISTON – The Mayor and City Council of Lewiston have asked the Maine Charter School Commission to reject a charter…
Transparency and accountability are core functions of government. Democracy does not equal self-government when elected officials can thwart routine journalistic…
Watch Dr. Sandra Stotsky break down the Common Core State Standards at Saco City Hall on Oct. 2. Stotsky served…
AUGUSTA – Republican Gov. Paul R. LePage announced on Tuesday that he has appointed Jim Rier as Acting Commissioner for…
A crowd of parents, grandparents and taxpayers from the Saco-Biddeford area gathered at Saco City Hall on Wednesday evening to…
AUGUSTA – Maine Department of Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen unexpectedly announced his resignation on Friday. Bowen, 44, is a Republican…
The first students to graduate from one of Maine’s fledgling public charter schools heard from an unusual voice at their…
Everybody can recall that one teacher who had a life-changing impression on them. For some it happened in grade school;…
By Rep. Lawrence E. Lockman (R-Amherst) For compelling evidence that Maine’s public schools are long overdue for an overhaul, check…
WESTBROOK, Maine – The Westbrook schools have hired an attorney to help navigate a legal dispute with an equipment consultant…
UPDATE: The Maine Wire has learned that a member of the Messalonskee Middle School “Leadership Team” – a group of…
All the flapping, squawking and screeching that greeted the LePage administration’s “letter-grade” ranks for Maine public schools was intensified earlier…
Watch the viral video of the Maine Democrats staging a press conference to attack Gov. Paul LePage, but failing spectacularly:…
AUGUSTA – Top Democrats refuse to say how long the Party has been working on their school evaluation system or…
AUGUSTA – Republicans and Democrats on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee sparred Friday over a host of bills GOP…
BRUNSWICK – Bowdoin College entered the national spotlight last week when the National Association of Scholars (NAS) published a voluminous…
At Gov. Paul R. LePage’s Friday education conference at Cony High School in Augusta, key note speaker Tony Bennett called…
AUGUSTA – Gov. Paul R. LePage held a statewide conference on education Friday at Cony High School in Augusta. The…
Maine is an easy state in which to exercise your right as a parent to teach your kids at home.…
In the face of tremendous opposition from Democratic legislators, the powerful teachers’ union, and even nameless vandals, Cornville Regional Charter…
AUGUSTA — As Gov. Paul R. LePage pushes for more customized learning solutions, a new survey shows more than half…
By Amanda Clark, Education Policy Analyst The rural towns of Athens and Brighton Plantation, nestled in the lower part of…
AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage has proposed a balanced state budget that reflects necessary fiscal discipline which reduces the…
Audio of the Governor’s Budget Message can be found here. Hello. This is Governor Paul LePage. These are challenging and difficult…
AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage has released a new video highlighting recent education reform, noting that the LePage Administration increased funding…