While the state provides universal free school meals, public preschools not located at public school sites are left out, something legislation from Senate President Mattie Daughtry hopes to change.
Riley Board
Staff Writer
Riley covers education for the Press Herald. Before moving to Portland, she spent two years in Kenai, Alaska, reporting on local government, schools and natural resources for the public radio station KDLL as part of the Report for America program. Riley originally hails from Sarasota, Florida, and is a graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, where she served as the editor-in-chief of the college’s student newspaper, The Campus. She has interned at the Burlington Free Press, and at the Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Magazine in Washington, D.C. Outside of work, Riley is passionate about roller skating, cooking and her cat, Edgar.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine school districts delicately balance traditional snow days and remote learning
A growing number now switch to remote learning after using a few snow days, although some are hesitant to embrace the practice.
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Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics, Schools and Education
Report outlines recommendations to address Maine’s school construction crisis
Proposals include a sliding-scale model for major construction projects, looking at consolidation options and diversifying revenue streams.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics, Schools and Education
Maine lawmakers debate making free community college permanent, this time at a lower cost
Changes proposed by Gov. Janet Mills would reduce the cost of the program that has been in place since 2022 by changing some eligibility requirements.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Schools and Education
Bowdoin’s updated protest policies meet pushback from students, faculty
The Brunswick college said it is now refining those policies, which went into effect in January, following feedback.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Schools and Education
Maine college endowments saw big gains in 2025
The University of New England and University of Maine grew their investments more than 30% and 19%, respectively, in 2025.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Schools and Education
UMaine considering name changes to Mitchell Center, scholarship
Former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell’s name appears hundreds of times in a new batch of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, prompting difficult discussions at institutions that use Mitchell’s name, including Bowdoin, his alma mater.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics, Schools and Education
Lawmakers initiate reform of Maine’s fraught school funding formula
The Education Committee is introducing a bill based on researcher recommendations that include integrating local poverty rates and reforming the special education model.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Schools and Education
Thousands of Maine kids missed school as ICE carried out heightened operations
Absence rates for multilingual students were near or over 50% in some school districts where immigration enforcement spiked, and educators describe empty classrooms and fearful students.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Families, lawyers work to locate Maine immigrants moved out of state
Lawyers say it has become harder to locate detainees arrested and flown out of New England since ICE’s recent enforcement surge.