In last Thursday’s State of the State address, Governor Janet Mills made headlines when she announced her plan to provide two years of free community college tuition to students from high school classes which have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal joined a planned expansion of the state’s student debt relief program and new investments she’s already announced in career and technical education to form a bold suite of policies aimed at ensuring Maine kids can affordably receive higher education and prepare to join the workforce right here in Maine.

Even before Mills announced these proposals, her record on investing in workforce development and education was a dramatic change from her predecessor, Paul LePage, who spent his time in office attacking higher education institutions and cutting funding for workforce development programs. During LePage’s tenure as Governor, he:

  • Ordered temporary cuts to Maine’s higher education system, and attempted to make more permanent cuts on numerous occasions to the Department of Education, including one instance where he refused to increase funding for the state’s community college system in an apparent attempt to punish the Maine Community College System President.

  • Vetoed or refused to sign bills to create and modernize technical job training programs for Mainers.

  • Forfeited $8 million in federal funding for job training programs in Maine, a decision the Portland Press Herald called “meddlesome and uninformed” and the Bangor Daily News cited as an example of LePage’s “my way or the highway approach to governing.”

“In a state with an aging population like Maine, we have to make sure that our young people have the opportunity to stay here as they prepare to enter the workforce,” said Drew Gattine, Chair of the Maine Democratic Party. “By investing in our higher education and workforce development programs, Governor Janet Mills is giving young Mainers that opportunity. We can’t let Paul LePage drag us back to a time when our governor fought against the investments that would give Maine kids opportunities to stay.”

Since taking office in 2019, Governor Mills has worked with Democrats in the legislature to bolster Maine’s higher education and workforce development programs through substantial investments in technical education, the University of Maine and Community College systems, and apprenticeship programs. The suite of proposals she unveiled in her State of the State last week will add to that record of fighting to give young people opportunities to learn and develop their skills right here in Maine.

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