The K-through-12 education system has more than enough funding to give our students a proper education. With a total education budget of almost $3 billion, it is unconscionable that teachers and students have to spend their own money to buy notebooks, pens, and pencils.

Student enrollment in Maine has decreased by 25,000 students over the past two decades, despite the fact that some pre-kindergartens have been added to public school enrollment. Just in the last decade, the number of students has declined by 13 percent—but spending has increased by 18 percent. Despite this increase in spending, school performance has been stagnant. Mainers deserve to know why their local school budgets are going up every year, but academic results are not getting better.

Implementing reforms that eliminate administrative overhead, reward good teachers, directly improve educational outcomes, allow parents to select the best learning environment for their child, and expand early college and career and technical education programs are the right solutions for Maine’s schoolchildren.