AUGUSTA, Maine - A group that wants to increase funding for Maine schools with a new tax on the wealthy is handing in petition signatures to the state.
"Stand Up for Students'' says it delivered nearly 75,000 valid signatures to the Maine Secretary of State on Monday. A petition needs 61,123 valid signatures to be placed on the November ballot.
The petition is the first of three expected to be submitted by 5 p.m. Monday, the deadline. The others are proposals to legalize marijuana and create a casino in southern Maine.
The school funding measure would raise $157 million for schools from a 3 percent income tax surcharge on the top 2 percent of wage earners in the state.