What a US DOE shutdown could mean for Maine schools, programs

GORHAM, Maine — More and more people are sharing their concerns about how changes at the U.S. Department of Education could impact them, and child care workers as well taxpayers are now speaking out. 

Some early learning programs like Seedlings to Sunflowers’ public pre-K program in Gorham, are directly funded by the federal government. 

Seedlings to Sunflowers is a nonprofit school that offers daycare and early childhood learning at two separate facilities.

Program Director Charlotte Jacobs, who works with children ages three and four, said working in childhood education is her passion, explaining that the kids they serve make her world go ’round. 

Jacobs said she’s afraid of what a shutdown or a DOE shakeup could mean for the nonprofit’s ability to educate students.

“Dismantling the DOE would be short-sighted and inhumane,” Jacobs said. “Our society depends on the future of all of the kids in this building and around the state and the nation, and if we don’t start investing in them, we’re going to be in trouble.”

Seedlings to Sunflowers’ Pre-K program serves nearly 100 children. Of that large number, 20 students participate in the public pre-K program that is offered to parents at a discounted rate. The public pre-K program is directly funded by the DOE.

For each student in the public Pre-K program, the school receives $8,000 yearly. Any interruptions in federal funding could cause a $160,000 deficit for the nonprofit.

“We can’t just come up with that money,” Jacobs said. “We do a lot of fundraising initiatives around our community and work really hard to not to have to tap back into parents or take away from teachers.”

Jacobs said if there is a loss of federal funding, parents could possibly be at risk of paying higher tuition rates or worst-case-scenario, the school could have to call it quits on its public Pre-K program. 

Because head start programs like Seedlings to Sunflowers and public schools rely on federal funding from the DOE, some are left wondering how programs and public schools will compensate for possible shifts.

As a taxpayer, parent to a middle schooler, and an active Kennebunk community member, Melissa McCue McGrath keeps a close eye on the money.

“The rest of that falls on the taxpayer,” McCue-McGrath said.

Last year, her local school district, RSU 21, received hefty federal support. Even with that, the school’s budget totaled nearly $60 million. 

“Once the Department of Education stops being able to fund the state departments of education and that money stops coming into our public schools, you are going to start seeing taxes go up really, really high, and it’s going to prohibitive for schools to be funded and that’s going to affect every kid,” McCue-McGrath said.

There are Republican state lawmakers who welcome the idea of eliminating the federal agency. The Maine GOP held a press conference last year, sharing concerns that too much money is expended at the federal level.

Republican state representative Barbara Bagshaw said she’s more focused on the state’s performance in reading, writing, and math. Bagshaw said there has already been increased spending on education in the state, and that it hasn’t improved scores. 

Even though schools are largely funded by states, public schools still look to the U.S. DOE to fill funding gaps. 

“What’s happening in Washington should not distract us from fixing Maine’s failing education system,” Bagshaw said. “We’ve gone from being a national leader to rock bottom despite a 71-percent increase in funding.”

The nonpartisan 2024 Kid’s Count national data profile shows statistics that indicate increases in the number of fourth graders who are not proficient in reading, the number of eighth-grade students who are not proficient in math, and the number of high school students who are not graduating on time.

It also shows that younger children ages three and four are not enrolled in Pre-K learning programs.

The 71-percent increase in state funding that Bagshaw mentions has happened over the course of 20 years. There have been considerable increases in cost of living, wage increases for educators, and changes in the type of academic accommodations students need and require, all of which result of the cost of decent education simply being more expensive over the years.

The need for mental and emotional support services also impacts the amount of state funding needed to help schools run effectively. 

Maine has long struggled with providing available access to child care and early learning programs, and there are simply not enough programs available in the state to support many of the state’s rural areas.

Jacobs said interruptions in funding would only be a setback that could result in the closure of programs that help children develop foundational learning skills. Those foundational learning skills are critical to helping kids be successful academically. 

Having less early childhood learning programs likely won’t result in improved test scores.

Jacobs further explained that she fears instability in the education field with possible changes at the U.S. DOE will only scare more educators away from classrooms. 

She said having less educators creates substantial gaps and being that recruiting in the field is already difficult, she can’t imagine that a U.S. DOE shutdown will make anything any better. 

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