Dear Editor:

Governor Mills made national headlines last week when, in a statement to President Trump said, “see you in court.” With that statement she declared war against the federal government and the 77% of Maine voters who believe schools should be focused on the basics rather than DEI. How did Maine get to the point that our government will risk $250 million in federal grants to prioritize DEI?

Maine can’t take the high ground from a position of excellence. On the contrary, Maine is the poster child for the mismanagement of education. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Maine has plummeted from first or second place to number 36 in the 26 years between 1996 and 2022. Even with that statistic, in March of 2023, Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin told lawmakers DEI should be a higher priority than reading, writing, or math.

In 2022, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Maine could not require schools to be “nonsectarian” in order to be eligible for state funding. This ruling prevented Maine from continuing to discriminate against Chistian churches. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey responded to the ruling with the following statement, “I intend to explore with Governor Mills’ administration and members of the Legislature statutory amendments to address the Court’s decision and ensure that public money is not used to promote discrimination, intolerance, and bigotry.” He continued with, “facilities that accept public funds must comply with anti-discrimination provisions of the Maine Human Rights Act, and this would require some religious schools to eliminate their current discriminatory practices.”  Frey’s statement brands Christian schools as discriminatory and he uses this condemnation to deny state funding. This is another position that will likely fail under judicial review.

Our children are collateral damage in this battle. They are being processed through the K-12 system without learning basic math and reading skills. It is a lifelong handicap and will limit their opportunities, success, and happiness in life. President Trump is right, our priorities must change, and DEI must go.

Joe Grant

Wiscasset