Amendments Could Lead to More Funds for Community Colleges, Brunswick Schools
FINANCIAL AID
Bangor Daily News
Kase Wickman
Boston University Washington News Service
Sept. 17, 2009
WASHINGTON—A House-passed student aid bill would provide money that Brunswick hopes to tap to ease the losses that closing the Brunswick Naval Air Station would mean for public schools in the area.
An amendment that Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) successfully offered to the bill on the House floor would make the Brunswick-area schools and other school districts affected by base closures eligible to compete for $200 million set aside for schools in areas affected by severe economic recession or natural disasters.
“We look for every way to find assistance for Brunswick and the surrounding community,” Pingree said.
A second Pingree amendment would make Maine’s community colleges eligible for about $5.9 million for repairs and new facilities.
The legislation, which the House approved, 253-171, on Thursday, would increase federal aid to college students and make all federal student loans directly instead of through private lenders as well as increase federal aid to public elementary and secondary schools nationwide.
The bill, which would provide $4 billion in grants for K-12 schools, sets aside 5 percent, or $200 million, of that money specifically for schools in areas hit hard by the recession or natural disasters. Pingree’s amendment would let school districts affected by base closure apply for a share of the money. The base in Brunswick is set to close completely by 2011, as mandated by the Defense Department’s 2005 Base Realignment and Closure initiative.
According to a statement by Pingree’s office, the base’s closing will reduce the Brunswick public school population by 10 percent, leading to a $1 million reduction in the schools’ government financial aid.
“The need for emergency educational funding in areas affected by the base closures is clear,” Pingree said when she introduced the amendment on the House floor Wednesday. “My amendment helps public schools in BRAC communities recover from the devastating impact of losing hundreds of students and millions of dollars in taxpayer support.”
Maine state Rep. Alexander Cornell du Houx (D-Brunswick) said that the amendment was “very important for the future of Brunswick and the school system, especially considering the closure of the school system.”
Du Houx said that the base’s eventual closing will lead to the loss of 5,000 jobs, but he added that he hoped it would have a positive net impact on the area’s economy, saying that after coming up with new uses for the base, as many as 10,000 jobs could be created in the area.
“We’re working hard to turn it into an opportunity to invest in renewable energy jobs,” du Houx said. “I believe . . . we will be able to turn the closure into an opportunity for high-paying quality jobs.”
Pingree’s other amendment would let Maine’s community colleges, which have received about $7.7 million in federal stimulus money, apply for about $5.9 million in additional aid for repairs and new facilities.
Pingree called the ineligibility of those community colleges in the bill’s original language an “oversight.”
“Obviously [the community colleges] had no idea [when they applied for recovery funds] that there was a future bill they couldn’t participate in,” Pingree said. “I didn’t want to see them cut out from funding possibility in the bill.”
About 15,000 students attend Maine’s seven community colleges, said Helen Pelletier, director of public affairs for the Maine Community College System.
“We are seeing unprecedented demand for our programs and enormous pressure on our colleges and their facilities,” Pelletier said. “This additional funding couldn’t come at a better time.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) also voted for the bill.
“The changes will help Maine students get the training and education they need in order to make a good living and contribute to our economic recovery,” Michaud said in a statement.
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