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AUGUSTA — Lewiston High School teacher Samantha Garnett Sias will soon be wearing her “Vote Yes on Question 2” button.
 
On Monday, the Secretary of State’s Office picked the order of questions on the Nov. 8 ballot. Question 2 asks voters if they want to impose a 3 percent surcharge on incomes above $200,000 to support public education.
 
It would generate an estimated $157 million for public schools statewide, including $3 million for Lewiston.
 
Garnett Sias is president of the Lewiston Education Association and a supporter of the Stand Up for Students campaign.
 
“I think many people are aware of the vote since there are four other questions on the ballot,” she said.
 
In May she and others asked the Lewiston School Committee to endorse the referendum to raise more money for public schools. The committee vote was a tie, which meant it failed. Members will reconsider endorsing Question 2 in September.
 
On Monday, the Stand Up for Students campaign said with the wording and ballot number decided, it’s time to focus on “tax fairness to Maine and fair funding of public education to all Maine students,” campaign manager John Kosinski said.
 
For too long, Maine tax policy has favored the wealthiest, and public schools have been underfunded, he said in a prepared statement. “This initiative offers a solution that gives students a better future.”
 
The state has never met the full 55 percent of the cost of public K-12 education as directed by voters 10 years ago. Last year, the state funded 47.5 percent of the cost, falling short by $154 million.
 
“Passing this referendum ensures that our children and grandchildren will receive the education they deserve, regardless of where they live,” Kosinski said.
 
But opponents say higher taxes will keep the rich away.

Matthew Gagnon of the Maine Heritage Policy Center has said taxing the wealthiest is seen as an easy solution, but that school quality doesn’t always correspond to funding. Other factors that contribute to good schools are teacher quality and parental involvement, he said.

If the rich are taxed more, Maine becomes less hospitable, Gagnon said. For people splitting time between Maine and Florida, the higher tax would encourage them to go, he said. When they leave, “you don’t get anything.”

Citizen initiative questions

AUGUSTA — The order of citizen initiative questions on the Nov. 8 ballot was determined Monday by a random drawing at the Secretary of State’s Office.

Question 1: “An Act To Legalize Marijuana.” “Do you want to allow the possession and use of marijuana under state law by persons who are at least 21 years of age, and allow the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of marijuana and marijuana products subject to state regulation, taxation and local ordinance?”

Question 2: “An Act To Establish The Fund to Advance Public Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education.” “Do you want to add a 3% tax on individual Maine taxable income above $200,000 to create a state fund that would provide direct support for student learning in kindergarten through 12th grade public education?”

Question 3: “An Act to Require Background Checks for Gun Sales.” “Do you want to require background checks prior to the sale or transfer of firearms between individuals not licensed as firearms dealers, with failure to do so punishable by law, and with some exceptions for family members, hunting, self-defense, lawful competitions, and shooting range activity?”

Question 4: “An Act to Raise the Minimum Wage.” “Do you want to raise the minimum hourly wage of $7.50 to $9 in 2017, with annual $1 increases up to $12 in 2020, and annual cost-of-living increases thereafter; and do you want to raise the direct wage for service workers who receive tips from half the minimum wage to $5 in 2017, with annual $1 increases until it reaches the adjusted minimum wage?”

Question 5: “An Act To Establish Ranked-Choice Voting.” “Do you want to allow voters to rank their choices of candidates in elections for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, State Senate, and State Representative, and to have ballots counted at the state level in multiple rounds in which last-place candidates are eliminated until a candidate wins by majority?”

The full text of each proposed bill is available on the Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions’ Citizen Initiatives webpage.

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