More than a decade ago, Maine voters mandated that the state fund 55 percent of the cost of education. Despite that mandate, successive legislatures and governors have failed to meet that obligation. Indeed, not only is the state failing to comply with the law we the people established, but each state budget meets progressively less of the obligation.
For the 2015-2016 school year, the state has funded only 47 percent of the cost of education, pushing more of the burden onto individuals and small businesses through higher property taxes. In my town, the state has cut more than $1.1 million from Regional School Unit 19 over the last seven years.
By failing to comply with the law, our elected officials are hurting far more than our children and schools. They are destroying the fabric of our communities and our state. Maine voters, however, can begin to address this failure by passing Question 2 on the November ballot, which will increase funding for schools with a 3 percent surtax on annual income over $200,000. That funding will be used only for things that directly benefit students, such as math teachers, not administration.
Underfunding education and other social programs directly affects many other aspects of society, dramatically increasing costs in sectors with a much lower return on investment than education spending.
A 2013 study by the Alliance for Excellent Education estimates that a 5 percent increase in the national high school graduation rate for male students alone would lead to substantial reduction in crime and the expense it generates for society, saving $19.7 billion annually. That 5 percent increase in the graduation rate would save Maine’s economy an estimated $31.5 million annually through reduced spending on crime-related expenses, according to the study.
Nationally, the average cost to educate a student was $12,643 per year, compared with an average annual cost of $28,323 to house an inmate in a state correctional facility, according to the Alliance for Excellent Education report. Beyond housing, crime produces further costs through the need for more police, courts, jails, loss of victims’ income or property, reduced tax revenue from lost wages and health care for victims.
There are other associated health care costs when we don’t adequately fund education. A 2011 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study found a direct connection between health care outcomes and spending on social programs, such as public education. In fact, proper funding of education could have a greater impact on health care than increased health care spending.
Among other things, the study compared state-to-state spending between 2000 and 2009. States with higher ratios of social service spending to health care spending had better health care outcomes. For instance, a 20 percent change in the social-to-health spending ratio was equivalent to 85,000 fewer obese adults, which costs Maine half a billion dollars annually. Maine didn’t fare well in the state-to-state analysis, where we were above average in obesity. Not surprisingly, Maine is among the states with the worst social-to-health spending ratios, ranking near the bottom with states such as Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee.
Although it isn’t the only factor that could improve health care outcomes, many studies suggest increased funding for health education could reduce rates of childhood obesity.
These facts are even more worrisome when considered alongside the disparity in Maine’s per pupil funding from one district to another. For example, the cost per student in RSU 19, which includes schools in my community, is $8,564.42, while in Bangor it costs $10,309.97 and in Brooksville it costs $16,655.48, according to the Maine Department of Education. It doesn’t take a study to tell you these children will have vastly different education opportunities in life. But the answer is not to cut funding from students at the upper end of the range. Rather, the state needs to increase educational spending across the board, while bringing up the lower end of the spectrum.
Question 2 provides a fair, common-sense way to increase funding in a way that directly benefits students. This is something the representatives — such as House Minority Leader Ken Fredette and Sen. Andre Cushing, who represent me — we send to Augusta should have done long ago. We can invest relatively little in education or much more in other things. The choice is ours this November. Let’s vote yes on Question 2 and to investing in our students and communities.
Ryan Parker, born and raised in rural Maine, is a former staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives. He writes, farms and lives with his family in Newport.