ORONO, Maine — The five candidates for governor on Tuesday discussed their plans to make a college education more affordable in the face of severe budget shortfalls that likely will put pressure on Maine’s public colleges and universities to raise tuition.
See Maine student debt by college, according to the Project on Student Debt.
Speaking one at a time during a forum at the University of Maine, each of the gubernatorial hopefuls also said they believe university-based research and development is key to the state’s economic recovery.
Responding to a question about how he would keep down the costs of Maine’s public colleges and universities, independent candidate Eliot Cutler of Cape Elizabeth said it is unlikely the state will be able to increase state aid for scholarships because of the estimated $800 million to $1 billion budget shortfall.
Instead, Cutler said, the next governor will have to limit tuition increases by controlling the costs of education. Cutler has proposed merging the University of Maine System with the community college system, creating one governing board and chief executive and eliminating duplicative programs.
“I know the presidents at all 14 college campuses have been working hard at it, but we’ve got to do a lot more and I think the way we start is to merge the systems,” Cutler said.
Republican Paul LePage of Waterville said he would require colleges to answer the following questions: What is the full cost of an average education, what percentage of students complete their degree programs, how many graduates find employment within a year and how much do they earn?
See University of Maine costs here. Graduation rates are here. See work and pay scales for UMaine, according to payscale.com.
But LePage said he also planned to promote a plan in which high school students could earn an associate degree or two years of college credit by completing a fifth year of schooling. When asked how this would be paid for, LePage has said he believes this could be done with existing resources.
“It allows them to start their college careers early and at a far lower cost than attending the university,” LePage said.
Democrat Libby Mitchell, a former teacher from Vassalboro, discussed her proposal to renegotiate the state’s contract for liquor sales to generate additional money that then could be funneled into a scholar-ship program for first-year students.
She described the proposal as a “door opener” that will allow additional students to access higher education.
“I will negotiate very hard to get the very best deal possible for this state asset, take those funds and invest them in a trust fund and then I would ask the private sector to match that,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said a portion of those revenues also could be used to introduce pre-kindergarten services to every school district. At present, roughly half of Maine’s districts offer pre-kindergarten classes.
Independent Shawn Moody of Gorham said while he does not support the proposal to merge the university and community college systems, he believes a Moody administration could find savings by consolidating administrative functions.
“There are a tremendous amount of efficiencies that can be gained that don’t affect the students in the classroom, that are administrative in nature,” said Moody, owner of a chain of automotive collision re-pair centers.
But Moody, who is the only candidate without a college degree, said he believes the state also needs to expand its offering of vocational training programs for high school students headed into the work force rather than to college.
Independent Kevin Scott of Andover turned the question around on the audience by asking what they — as students and education leaders — would do to make higher education more accessible and to tell him how he can help.
Scott said as someone who runs a recruiting firm that places engineers in companies, he arguably understands better than any other candidate the importance of college degrees in the high-tech economy.
“What I will do is champion and work with that Legislature down there in Augusta and make sure that your local reps and the people that you elect to office are really understanding and maintaining their focus on the importance of higher education,” Scott said.