Staff Report

Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart interviews Senator James Libby, Senate Republican lead on the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.

Stewart: Today, we’re going to be talking about the Republican vision for education in the State of Maine. This is something you know a lot about, and I’m excited to hear your thoughts on this. So, let’s just open it up from there.

Libby: I’ve spent a whole career in education — well over 35 years at all levels. I’ve had everything from a superintendent certification to being a math teacher — from the high school level to now working in higher ed for almost 30 years. I really enjoy the topic; and I’ve served three terms on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.

I’m here to tell you that, unfortunately, starting at the time I was in the Legislature for my first time in the ’90s to today, we’ve gone from the top five to the bottom five in almost every single category; and there are some clear reasons why.

The first one I want to talk about is standards. In education, you must have standards. It’s really important to measure our performance. With the current administration — this has been going on for close to seven years now — they’ve had a lot of opportunity to see if they could improve our outcomes. Education outcomes in Maine really have not been good; we have not performed the way we need to.

What we need to do — and what the Republican Party wants to do — is strengthen the system so that we have reliability and validity in testing. The other thing we want to do is establish the necessary standards.

If you look at and compare Massachusetts and Maine, what you find out is that Massachusetts has rocketed to the top. They require four years of math in state law. In Maine, we have only two years of math required in state law. It’s the same with science. Maine is 33% below the requirements of many other states that are improving their standardized test scores.

Stewart: So, it’s a pretty sad state of affairs currently for education in Maine. What are some solutions that Republicans are going to be championing?

Libby: Well, I think it’s very hopeful that we continue to work on the issue of school choice. Two terms ago, I put in a bill — and Republicans have supported this bill in the past as well — on school choice.  Specifically, the Arizona model for school choice has really received some accolades around the country. Their school choice allows parents to take a look at the actual amount of money that’s being designated for the student. They can look at it, and the money follows the child.

Stewart: One last thing I’d like to point out is an opportunity coming up that can benefit students here in Maine: the adoption of the federal policy to allow for charitable contributions to scholarship granting organizations. There would be a fully refundable tax credit for anybody in Maine that right now we’re missing out on because the Democrats haven’t adopted it. That’s a missed opportunity for kids in Maine to be able to benefit from this new tax policy. We’re going to talk about that a lot come January when we get back into session. It’s definitely something I think would help move the needle in the right direction.

Libby: Well, we’ve decided, under far-left leadership, that we’re not going to adopt any of the administration’s goals, and there are several across the board – taxation is a good example of this. The Republican Party in Maine wants to cooperate with the administration to take full advantage of the federal resources that are there to benefit our students.  

Senator Harold “Trey” Stewart III represents District 2, which includes communities in Aroostook and Penobscot counties. He is the Senate Republican Leader and a member of the Legislative Council.

Senator James Libby represents the communities of District 22, which includes municipalities in Cumberland, Oxford and York. He is the Senate Republican Lead for the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.

Text edited for clarity and brevity.