In case you missed it, WMTW News 8 yesterday debunked Paul LePage’s repeated false campaign claim that he “put far more money into education than [Governor Janet Mills]” and “we also funded the 55 percent [cost of education].”
As News 8 explained, “according to budget and spending data from the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Affairs, neither claim is true”.
The report went on to note multiple other experts, including school leaders and the lead Republican lawmaker on the Legislature’s Education Committee calling out LePage’s campaign falsehoods:
-
Executive Director of the Maine School Management Association Steve Bailey said of the 55 percent threshold achieved under Governor Mills: “It has not been achieved before.”
-
Former President of the Maine School Superintendents Association James Boothby said: “I do not recall a time when the state met the 55 percent funding formula, until now.”
-
Republican Representative Paul Stearns, the lead on education policy in the State Legislature, “agreed that Mills reached 55 percent and disagreed with LePage’s contention that he did too,” saying “Not by my calculations.”
News 8 even reported that “the LePage campaign shared budget data, but the figures didn’t prove the former governor’s claims.”
Paul LePage has a history of making false claims, both on the campaign trail and while in office. Just earlier this week, Maine Democrats called out LePage’s repeated campaign lies.
“Governor Mills made history by becoming the first Governor to fully fund the state’s share of public education,” said Misha Linnehan, spokesperson for the Maine Democratic Party. “Paul LePage knows his record was a complete failure in comparison, so he’s decided to lie about it instead. That’s the story of this campaign in a nutshell—Governor Mills is delivering results for Maine people, while Paul LePage is lying to their faces.”