SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine - The South Portland public school system has seen an increase in the number of homeless students in the city's south side.
Assistant Superintendent Kathryn Germani says South Portland schools enrolled 107 students who are characterized as homeless. That number is up from 74 students in the 2013-2014 school year and 40 students in 2012-2013.
The Portland Press Herald reports that the increase is linked to Portland's family shelter, which saw its own numbers rise last year and regularly uses a South Portland motel for temporary housing.
Maine has stepped up efforts to identify and assist homeless students in recent years. It has been bolstered this year by $230,000 in federal funding for tutoring and counseling programs.