UMaine professors write BDN op-ed, create interactive map examining impact of the governor’s proposed biennial budget on local schools

Two University of Maine professors have created an interactive map that looks at how each school district in the state would fare under the governor’s proposed biennial budget. The map, created by Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership Ian Mette and Assistant Professor of Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction Patrick Womac, accompanies an op-ed the pair wrote for the Bangor Daily News. The map allows readers to click on districts in Maine to see the dollar amount and percentage change in state funding from FY17 to FY18. “Our map is not intended to comment on the policy implications of the proposed changes, but rather to provide a tool for Maine residents to examine the proposed changes for individual districts,” Womac and Mette write. They add that state funding is only part of picture when it comes to local school district budgets, while concluding that “there is a real opportunity to take part in our democratic process by using data to inform policymakers about what is needed to support the foundation of our communities.”