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The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee has been busy conducting public hearings on Govenor LePage's biennial budget proposals. FAME recently appeared at public hearings concerning proposed redirection of Fund for a Healthy Maine (FFHM) spending, as well as additional higher education funding.
Fund for a Healthy Maine
With respect to FFHM programs, there are three separate budget initiatives eliminating funding for programs administered by FAME: the Dental Education Loan and Loan Repayment Programs; Area Health Education Centers; and the Quality Child Care Education Scholarship. The dental education initiative proposes to reduce funding to the program by $237,740 in each year of the biennium to reflect a redistribution of funding and the consequent reduction of revenue available in the Fund For a Healthy Maine. As you may know, the Maine Dental Education Loan and Loan Repayment Programs provide need-based, forgivable loans to Maine residents pursuing post-graduate education in dentistry and loan repayment for dentists providing services to underserved populations in Maine. The program will be able to continue for a limited time without new funding, although in reduced fashion. The proposed cuts will soon disallow any new participants in the program, however. FAME will be able to meet its commitment to existing program participants, but will need to reduce new participants to two this year and one the following year. FAME has been able to leverage money in this program twice: once through a HRSA grant, and another with Delta Dental money. The second initiative concerns the Maine Area Health Education Centers administered by the University of New England. This initiative reduces funding by $100,353 in each year of the biennium. The Maine Area Health Education Center Network addresses health professional workforce shortages in Maine's rural and underserved areas. This is essentially pass-through money given by FAME to the University of New England. The third and final initiative relates to quality child care and reduces funding by $143,629 in each year of the biennium. The Quality Child Care Education Scholarship is a need-based program that provides funding for early childhood education or child development courses at the post-secondary level at eligible institutions. The cuts will have the practical effect of eliminating the program. In 2009-2010, FAME funded 276 students. In 2010-2011, we expect to fund up to 200 students. In 2011-2012, we would be unable to fund any students.
Additional Higher Education Funding
On a more positive note, there are two separate initiatives proposing additional funding for two higher education programs administered by FAME: the Doctors for Maine's Future Scholarship Program and the Student Financial Assistance Programs. The Governor's budget proposes to restore funding to the Doctors for Maine's Future Scholarship Program by $125,445 in the second year of the biennium. As you may recall, the program was created during the 124th Maine Legislature. The medical scholarships provide a tuition subsidy of 50 percent of the cost of attendance annually, up to a maximum of $25,000 per student annually, for eligible students who enter qualifying Maine-based medical school programs. The goal of the program is to increase the number of physicians in the state who practice in primary care, underserved specialties or underserved areas of Maine. The funding will have the positive effect of restoring funds cut in the Supplemental Budget in order to avoid any cuts or disruption to the program's anticipated funding stream and functioning. As FAME stated during the recent hearings on the Supplemental Budget, the prior cut to the program was not expected to affect any students until the fall of 2016. The proposed restored funding is very good news for the program and the state. The second initiative concerns FAME's Student Financial Assistance Programs. This initiative increases funding by $100,000 in each year of the biennium and will allow FAME to award need-based grants for the Maine State Grant Program. The Maine State Grant Program is the state's basic need-based undergraduate grant program. In recent years, FAME has awarded over 10,000 Maine students an average grant of $1,000 annually. Over the years, the Legislature has continually emphasized the preeminent position this program should have among FAME-administered education programs. Regrettably, due to challenging budget circumstances and reduced appropriations, the program's reach has diminished in recent years. Whereas in 2008 we offered grants of up to $1,450 to 14,927 Maine students, last year we were required to reduce average awards to $1,000. The additional funding will have the effect of allowing 100 additional Maine students to receive a $1,000 grant. This is very good news for Maine students and families, as well as for college access generally in Maine. This increase is particularly timely, as the recently passed Continuing Resolution in Congress terminated the federal LEAP and SLEAP programs, which contributed $233,000 to the need-based grant program this year. Those funds will not be available for the 2011-2012 academic year, creating a net reduction of available funds of $133,000, even with this welcome increase.
For more information on Gov. LePage's budget, please visit:
http://www.maine.gov/budget/
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