© 2024 Maine Public | Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.

Maine Schools To Get More Than $183 Million Out Of New Stimulus Package

Maine schools will receive more than $183 million in federal funds from the latest stimulus bill.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the additional funding in a letter to states earlier this week.

Eileen King, the executive director of the Maine School Superintendents’ Association, says the money will help schools hire more teachers and address challenges raised by the pandemic.

“Tracking attendance, increasing parent engagement. Everything that we have to do differently in order to continue to educate our children. And provide support for our teachers, our principals, our superintendents, and our school boards,” she says.

Grace Leavitt, the president of the Maine Education Association, says she hopes the funds will also be used to improve ventilation and air quality inside schools.

“The increase in the numbers of cases in our communities is alarming. And we want to be sure that we’re doing everything we can to keep students and educators safe, despite those increase in numbers,” she says.

The Mills administration committed more than $360 million in coronavirus relief funds to help schools reopen last year.