Businesses asked to lobby for Maine's universities
In the wake of large spending cuts to Maine’s public universities, the state’s top university chief is asking businesses to help lobby state legislators for more education funding.
The Bangor Daily News reported that University of Maine System Chancellor James Page sought the support of Maine businesses at the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce’s meeting on Thursday. The UMaine System includes the University of Southern Maine, UMaine Orono and UMaine School of Law, among five other universities.
At Thursday’s meeting, Page explained the tough situation Maine’s public universities face, having recently cut $22.7 million, or 4%, from the UMaine System’s current budget. He attributed that decision to the state’s shrinking appropriation for the UMaine System, which once covered two-thirds of its budget years ago and now covers only 35%. He added that the system’s practice of continually making cuts to the budget is not sustainable.
“We’re going to have to ask the Legislature to make some tough choices around that,” he said to businesses at the Bangor chamber’s meeting, according to the BDN. “It’s going to require your help and stepping up and saying, ‘Yes, as long as our public universities are delivering A, B and C, then we need to support them.’”
Beyond asking businesses to help the UMaine System lobby the statehouse for more adequate funding, Page also asked them to support an $8 million bond package that would help fund research projects at UMaine Orono.
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