Rep. Michael Brennan is serving his fourth consecutive term in the Maine House, having previously served four terms in the House and three in the Senate. He represents House District 115, which includes a portion of Portland.

This time of year, Maine legislators are busy identifying priorities for the upcoming legislative session in January. As a member of both the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee and the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee, I believe there are two core issues that deserve immediate attention: school construction and reading proficiency.

Last year, Gov. Janet Mills established the Commission on School Construction to help rewrite the state’s public school construction program, which has not seen a significant overhaul since 2000. This spring, the commission issued a report calling for $11 billion to meet the state’s school construction needs over the next two decades. According to a report published by the Maine Education Policy Research Institute, many school buildings are between 60 and 80 years old and are not meeting the safety requirements, nor the educational and service needs, of students.

Each year, the state sets aside $150 million to fund school construction. This amount only allows us to fund a handful of projects. So, although demand grows, we continue to fall further behind.

To address this ongoing problem, I’ve introduced legislation co-sponsored by other legislators that would immediately revamp Maine’s school construction program. Specifically, LD 1892 calls for an increase in the debt limit to $200 million a year.

Funds for this increase would come from gaming, cannabis and tobacco revenue, as well as lapsed balances from the state’s General Fund. This would provide a stable source of revenue and allow for existing education funding to be utilized to increase teacher salaries and support special education programs.

Further, LD 1892 would develop a cost-sharing model based on a community’s ability to pay. This would help more projects move forward, especially if communities are able to consolidate existing schools. The bill would also increase the limits and qualifications for Maine’s current School Revolving Renovation Fund, which would incentivize school districts with no-interest loans to maintain buildings on a regular basis and reduce the need for costly new construction projects.

Additionally, if signed into law, my bill would establish a Maine Public School Financing Authority, which would be responsible for the sale of bonds and, when possible, offer zero-interest financing or cash allocations for a project. This proposal alone would save the state and municipalities millions of dollars in interest payments.

Equally important, all projects would be green-certified and use the most cost-effective, energy-efficient and low-emission standards possible. I also intend to amend the bill to increase the limits and qualifications for Maine’s current School Revolving Renovation Fund, so that districts will be incentivized with no-interest loans to maintain buildings on a regular basis and reduce the need for costly new construction projects.

LD 1892 will be up for consideration in January, along with the final recommendations of the Commission on School Construction. If the Legislature adopts a substantial portion of our combined proposals, we will make significant progress in building the next generation of schools across the state.

While having updated schools is essential, making sure all students are reading proficiently must also be a top priority.

Recently, there has been much debate about the reading levels of Maine students. In particular, the focus has been on Maine’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores. However, other indicators are showing that our public school system is not sliding backward.  

Maine’s state reading assessment is conducted by the Northwest Evaluation Association and is administered to 85,000 students in third through eighth grade, in addition to 10th grade. Their results show that 65% of students are scoring at or above reading expectations, which is well above the national average.

Last year, in response to legislative requests, the Maine Department of Education invested $10 million in a grant program with an emphasis on training teachers in best practices, including the science of reading. This program reached several school districts, hundreds of teachers and over 60,000 students. Earlier this year, the governor announced an initiative to improve reading and math skills by helping teachers acquire proven instructional methods and curricula. 

In an election year, any number of issues will be vying for attention and funding. Addressing school construction and ensuring all students have critical reading skills must be a central part of our agenda.