\n<\/p>\n
The Maine Legislature\u2019s budget-writing committee voted last week in favor of ending the state\u2019s free college program, to the great disappointment of community college leaders. <\/p>\n
The move by Democrats on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee contradicts Governor Janet Mills\u2019s proposal earlier this year to make the program a permanent fixture. The free college program, which Mills initially put forward, went into effect in 2022 to support students affected by the pandemic. It originally covered two years of community college tuition for anyone who graduated high school between 2020 and 2023, after other forms of aid were applied. Though created with one-time funding, the program enjoyed strong bipartisan support and was extended in 2023 to include the Classes of 2024 and 2025. Students have a certain amount of time to enroll; for example, 2025 graduates have to start college no later than the 2027\u201328 academic year to take advantage of the program.<\/p>\n
Since the program began, Maine\u2019s community college enrollment has surged\u2014enrollment of all degree-seeking students in the system jumped from 11,308 in 2022 to 14,278 in 2024. A total of 17,826 students have participated in the program since it started, according to data from the Maine Community College System. Many hoped, and expected, the program would continue. <\/p>\n
But the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee\u2019s proposal would give the community college system $20\u00a0million over two years to help current participants finish their studies before winding down the program for good, Maine Public Radio reported. The recommendation comes as Maine faces a lean budget year, with federal funding for the state hard to predict. President Donald Trump threatened to cut Maine\u2019s federal funds after a tense exchange with Mills in February over his executive order barring transgender athletes from competing on the teams that match their gender identity.<\/p>\n
Maine representative Michael Brennan said at the committee meeting last week, \u201cWe\u2019ve had to make hard decisions about what we think we can afford and not afford,\u201d though he called the free college program \u201ctremendously successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senator Peggy Rotundo, co-chair of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, emphasized in a statement to Inside Higher Ed <\/em>that state lawmakers are honoring their commitment to fund students who graduated in 2025 and expected to receive the program\u2019s support. She implied the program could still be made permanent in the future. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen considering what comes next, our focus is on ensuring this program\u2019s long-term sustainability,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThe Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee is seeking additional data and evaluation from the community college system to inform a responsible, future-focused approach. In a tough budget year, we have a duty to balance expanding opportunity with fiscal responsibility\u2014and that means looking ahead to build a durable model that can serve Maine students for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n The decision to nix the program isn\u2019t set in stone\u2014the state budget still needs to make its way through the state House and Senate and finally to the governor\u2019s desk. But state legislators indicated they plan to wrap up the budget by today.<\/p>\n David Daigler, president of the Maine Community College System, wrote a letter to the system\u2019s Board of Trustees on Saturday expressing \u201cdeep disappointment\u201d over the committee\u2019s vote. He told the board it\u2019s \u201chighly unlikely\u201d there will be any major changes to funding for the free college program at this point.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, the committee\u2019s vote reflects the state\u2019s challenging financial situation, which made it hard to get support even though Free College is a very popular, effective program that directly benefits Maine families, students, and employers,\u201d Daigler said in the letter. \u201cYou can be certain that we will build on the momentum of this program to emerge stronger, wiser, and re-dedicated to providing an affordable, accessible education to Mainers looking to improve their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n In February, Daigler and community college staff members advocated for the program before the committee. Multiple students also spoke out in support, some arguing they wouldn\u2019t have attended college without the program.<\/p>\n Brianna Michaud, a health-science student at Southern Maine Community College, told the budget-writing committee she considered not going to college because, despite her working two jobs, her family couldn\u2019t afford it. Then she heard about the free college program.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a first-generation college student who\u2019s entirely responsible for paying off their education, the Maine free college scholarship is the reason why I\u2019m able to put my hard work and dedication toward fulfilling my purpose in life, which is to help others,\u201d said Michaud, who plans on becoming a pediatric occupational therapist. <\/p>\n Payson Avery, a student representative at Southern Maine, said he graduated high school in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, and didn\u2019t know what to do. He felt like his grades senior year didn\u2019t show his potential. After two years, while working at a restaurant, he decided to take the state up on its free college offer. Now he has plans to attend the University of Maine at Farmington to major in education, he told the committee.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout this program, I\u2019m not sure I would have been able to make it to this point,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Maine Legislature\u2019s budget-writing committee voted last week in favor of ending the state\u2019s free college program, to the great disappointment of community college leaders. The move by Democrats on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee contradicts Governor Janet Mills\u2019s proposal earlier this year to make the program a permanent fixture. The free college program,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[535,534,533,532,536,368],"class_list":{"0":"post-8906","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"tag-college","9":"tag-community","10":"tag-free","11":"tag-maines","12":"tag-program","13":"tag-setback"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}