State of Maine Education Profile
Graham Harris
Map of Maine Public School Districts, colored by category. Unorganized Territories are uninhabited and therefore lack any local government or school system. Note the large amounts of uninhabited land in northern and eastern Maine. The districts located in these areas tend have very few residents with low incomes, and therefore less local funding.
Types of schools and enrollment populations in the State of Maine. Note the higher attendance and amount of public schools compared to private and charter schools. Many of these public schools are located in rural areas, and are the heart and center of the rural communities they reside in. Private and charter options are mostly located in southern Maine, where student populations are higher, and a greater demand for options exists.
Per Pupil Student Expenditures
The highest and lowest per pupil expenditures in Maine, the state average, and the national average. Note the shocking disparity of well over $40,000 between Maine’s highest and lowest per pupil expenditures. The high spending communities are the islands of coastal Maine, which pay for very few students who attend very small island schools. Many island residents participate in the high paying lobster industry, or the high paying tourist industry, where wealthy summer residents who own seasonal homes pay high taxes that fund local education for a small student population.
Student Demographics
The percent of students attending Maine public schools belonging to racial and ethnic demographic categories, as well as other demographic categories, ranked from highest to lowest. Maine has the highest percentage of white residents of any state, which is reflected in its student population. Maine also has a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, commonly found in rural and underdeveloped areas throughout the state.
Student Graduation Rates
The percent of students graduating in 4 years from public high schools in Maine belonging to different racial and ethnic demographic categories, as well as other demographic categories, ranked from highest to lowest. Asian students graduate at the highest rates in Maine, with women graduating at the second highest rate. Native Americans graduate at the lowest rate of any racial group, which correlates with the fact that Native Americans on average are the poorest and most rural demographic in the state. The lowest graduation rates are found among Maine’s homeless students which are also Maine’s poorest students.
Teacher Salaries
The highest and lowest average salaries for teachers in Maine, the state average, and the national average. The highest paying districts in the state are almost entirely located in southern Maine, where more densely populated areas create more job opportunities, higher student populations, and larger schools that can afford to pay higher salaries. The opposite effect occurs in northern Maine’s rural communities that have fewer jobs, fewer students, smaller schools and lesser salaries.
Teacher Unions
The dominant teacher union in Maine is the Maine Education Association, an affiliate of the National Education Association. The MEA is represents all education professionals in Maine, and its mission is to advocate for education professionals and to unite their members and the people of Maine to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed. The MEA originates from an association that originally formed in 1859, and currently has around 23,000 members. The American Federation of Teachers also has a Maine Regional Council for AFT members in the state.
Data Analysis: Maine Education Inequity
The inequities in education that exist in Maine are deeply tied to the demographics of the state, the differences between rural and urban areas, growing and shrinking populations, and higher and lower incomes. These all play the greatest roles in determining the quality of education that a student may receive at a Maine public school. Rural inland towns and plantations with populations in the mere hundreds are where the lowest per-pupil expenditures occur. Public school funding relies heavily on local taxpayers, and low-income, impoverished communities cannot provide the funding for their schools that other towns take for granted. The highest per-pupil expenditures in the state are found on small islands with few students and high incomes due to a thriving and high-paying lobster industry, and in southern Maine, where urban centers with high-paying jobs and growing populations are in close proximity to one another. In these southern cities and towns, teachers are paid the highest salaries, and, to no surprise, it is often where the most qualified educators end up living.
The role that local funding plays in the issue of inequity in Maine’s education system is prevalent enough that further action must be taken. Not every town in Maine is a thriving lobster community that pays for less than a hundred students. Not every town in Maine benefits from the tourism industry or the services and jobs provided in more densely populated areas. But every town in Maine has children who are no more or less deserving of a fair and equal education than children in a neighboring town. Maine has no voucher program, but it guarantees that municipalities are responsible for providing a “free public education” for the children who reside in them. If a town does not operate its schools, or if its schools only provide education up to a certain grade level, then that town must pay tuition for its children to attend either a neighboring public school or an approved private school. While this ensures every child receives a free education, more state funding is needed for communities that struggle to ensure a proper education is provided with their local financing. The state recently approved a bill to increase state funding for the 2022-23 academic year. Maine is obligated to pay for 55% of public school funding for the first time in state history. This will help improve the education of Maine’s struggling communities and will bring an increase in per-pupil expenditures and teacher salaries across the state.
Data Analysis: Maine’s Declining Student Population
Maine’s student enrollment has seen a continuing decline in recent years. Demographic shifts, an aging population, and the COVID-19 pandemic have all contributed to the loss of students in Maine’s public schools. Maine has the highest percentage of white residents and the highest percentage of elderly residents of any state. The state has seen a gradual increase in racial and ethnic diversity in recent decades, primarily due to a rise of people moving into the state from other parts of the country that are more diverse than northern New England. However, it should be noted Maine’s growing Native American population has also contributed to some recent shifts. These demographic shifts can be seen in public school data. While the state’s population is 91% percent white, its current student population is 88% white and becomes more diverse with each passing year.
While newcomers are increasing the diversity of both the state and its public school students, it is not enough to counter the problem of Maine’s aging population. Mainers today have far fewer children on average than they did in past decades, and not all of their children stay, with many heading to more inhabited areas in New England and across the country. Those who stay in Maine often move out of their rural hometowns into other areas. Rural towns with a declining economy and a lack of jobs see younger generations moving away to seek greater opportunities. Rural towns with increasing economies due to rising tourism also see a decline in young people due to artificial inflation. Housing in these attractive rural areas becomes increasingly expensive as year-round family residences are purchased at high prices and transformed into seasonal summer homes for retired couples and out-of-state tourists. Towns like these have seen a dramatic decline in students attending local schools. Because Maine is the most rural state in the country, meaning it has the highest percentage of residents living in non-urban areas, most of its public schools are located in small rural communities. Decreases in student enrollment have many of these communities debating whether or not these understaffed and underpopulated schools are worth the taxpayer dollars that often come with much-needed maintenance and renovations. Communities also have to consider what will happen to the remaining students if these schools are closed.
The pandemic has only worsened the decline in student enrollment. The student population from 2020-21 to 2021-22 has seen its first increase in over a decade. However, this is not due to the arrival of new students. Many students left school because of health concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and while some students have returned since the initial lockdown in 2020, not all of them have returned. The current number of students is far below the pre-pandemic population. Only time will tell whether or not the rest of the recently transitioned online and homeschooled students will return to public schools. Still, even if all of them return, it will not stop the continuing decline in Maine’s student population. If the hundreds of declining public schools in rural Maine are to survive the century, a significant shift in demographics must occur.