Maine voters on Nov. 6 will have a historic opportunity to approve Question 4, which asks if they want to invest $49 million in Maine's public universities for the purpose of increasing massive workforce development capacity — with the ultimate goal of attracting and retaining students to improve and strengthen Maine’s future workforce.
A full, in-depth look at what the bond will accomplish, if approved by voters, was recently completed by the University of Southern Maine's (USM) Office of Public Affairs, but in short, the bond will go toward the following:
- Educating more nurses to work in rural Maine.
- Ensuring graduates have skills for a global economy.
- Expanding career services.
Funding will be shared among the seven member universities of the University of Maine System to fund workforce development intiatives, program development and infrastructure improvements.
There has been statewide support for Question 4 on the Nov. 6 ballot, from business and health care leaders to residents and more. A list of editorials, op-eds and letters to the editor of Maine newspapers is compiled below.
Editorials/Op-Eds:
- 'Yes' on Question 4 invests in Maine’s work force (Lewiston Sun Journal)
- Skilling/Cummings: Question 4 addresses nursing shortage, workforce crisis (The Times Record)
- Education, business leaders: Yes on Question 4 invests in Maine’s workers (Portland Press Herald)
- Four bonds will further needed investment in Maine (Bangor Daily News)
- Editorial: Nurses Needed (Mount Desert Islander)
Letters to the Editor:
- Question 4 invests in future (Morning Sentinel/Kennebec Journal)
- Yes on Question 4 will improve USM, region (Portland Press Herald)
- To build Maine’s workforce, vote ‘yes’ on Question 4 (Portland Press Herald)
- Invest in County’s workforce by voting Yes on Question 4 (The Fiddlehead Focus)
- Letter to the Editor by Trevor Hustus (The Maine Campus)
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Question 4 would help Maine universities, base redevelopment (The Times Record)
Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including endorsements of Question 4, by visiting Yes4MainesWorkforce.org as well as the Yes on 4 Facebook page, where you can also view the campaign TV spot. Follow updates and stories on social media using #Yes4MainesWorkforce.