Support for school choice is becoming increasingly strong and widespread, actually transcending the often-impervious boundaries of political party identification. Over the course of nearly two years, support increased by eight percentage points and rose at approximately the same rate among Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. In Maine, there are currently three types of choice available to parents and students, namely Town Tuitioning, Superintendents’ Agreements, and the option to enroll in one of the state’s public charter schools. While this is a good starting point, a lot more work needs to be done to ensure that students and their families have the educational freedom they want and need.…
Author: Libby Palanza
Libby Palanza
Libby Palanza, born and raised in southern Maine, is a senior at Harvard College studying Government with a focus on American Politics. She is an active member of the Harvard Institute of Politics and has held leadership positions in several campus organizations. She is currently a Public Policy Intern at Maine Policy Institute and looks forward to pursuing a law degree in the future.
This November, Portland residents will vote on five citizens’ initiatives, four of which were sponsored by the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Among these DSA-sponsored initiatives is a proposal to limit to 1,000 the aggregate number of cruise ship passengers allowed to disembark on a daily basis. If approved, this restriction would go into effect by 2025. Tourism is the lifeblood of Maine’s economy. In 2021, the tourism industry supported approximately 143,000 jobs and brought over $14 billion into the state. In 2017, household income generated from tourism-sector jobs totaled more than $2.5 billion. According to Sen. Angus King in 2017, “one out of every…
Starting this August, senior citizens in Maine will be able to freeze their property tax rate, preventing their bill from increasing so long as they are a homeowner in the state. Municipalities will be reimbursed by the State for the lost revenue. LD 290, An Act To Stabilize Property Taxes for Individuals 65 Years of Age or Older Who Own a Homestead for at Least 10 Years, was sponsored by Sen. Trey Stewart of Presque Isle on behalf of an Aroostook County resident who was concerned about the impact of rising property taxes on older Mainers living on a fixed income. In…
On June 21, 2022, the United States Supreme Court released its decision in the case of Carson v. Makin, declaring unconstitutional the 1981 “sectarian exclusion” to Maine’s Town Tuitioning program. Authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the opinion resoundingly denounces the exclusion as a violation of Mainers’ First Amendment rights and incompatible with the Constitution’s Free Exercise Clause. In the words of the Chief Justice: “Maine’s “nonsectarian” requirement for its otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Regardless of how the benefit and restriction are described, the program operates to identify and exclude otherwise…
The desire and need for school choice nationwide is now clearer than ever. Since the onset of the pandemic, already high levels of support for school choice have only grown stronger, increasing eight percentage points over the course of nearly two years. Furthermore, according to a 2021 survey, there is a stark disconnect between where parents want to educate their children and how they are actually educated. Although Maine currently offers some degree of school choice, there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to providing Maine families with the options that they seek. Charter schools, which…
According to the American Legislative Exchange Council Center for State Fiscal Reform, Maine is currently ranked 44th in the nation in terms of its “economic outlook.” A 2022 analysis conducted by WalletHub ranked Maine’s economy 44th as well, with the state coming in at 36th for “economic activity,” 34th for “economic health,” and 42nd in terms of “innovation potential.” U.S. News and World Report has ranked Maine as one of the least business-friendly states in the country. The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council released an analysis of state policy environments in 2019 and found that Maine had created one of the top 10 most unfriendly business climates…
For decades, Mainers have debated the State’s more-than-a-century-old prohibition against hunting on Sundays. This year, however, one family has chosen to take the battle to the courtroom. Virginia and Joel Parker of Kennebec County have filed a lawsuit against the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW), arguing that the Sunday hunting ban violates the State’s recently-passed, first-of-its-kind, Right to Food Amendment. The Maine Attorney General’s Office, on the behalf of the IFW, has requested that the suit be dismissed. Sunday Hunting Ban The Maine IFW website states that “Sunday hunting is illegal in Maine.” It then goes on…
Last week, the Maine Democratic Socialists of America rushed to file paperwork with the City of Portland that set in motion the process to get a series of referendum questions on the ballot this November. Although it is still several months before voters will go to the polls, city spokesperson Jessica Grondin explained that November ballot initiatives are typically filed with the city by April, meaning this is truly being done at the last minute. Among the initiatives put forward are acts to raise the city minimum wage to $18 an hour and eliminate the tipped wage, and cap the…