How Maine Tourists Could Help Fund New Schools

So get this, every time a visitor or tourist books a hotel to stay here in Maine, they could actually be helping to build and even improve local schools across the state.

That sounds pretty amazing, right?

Well, according to News Center Maine, there's this new bill in that proposes adding a 3% tax on hotel stays. That extra cash would be going directly to funding school construction.

This is brought by the Maine Legislature.

As per the article, it pretty much means that $60 million per year could go towards fixing up older school buildings and building brand new schools.

Why does this bill matter?

Sadly, so many schools in our beautiful state of Maine are suffering. Schools rely on local taxpayers to help with construction and repairs.

I know this shouldn't be in the hands of taxpayers, but it is. And this can be a real struggle, especially in smaller communities.

Unfortunately the system is pretty messed up because currently, this is based on property values which means some towns get way more help from the state then others.

News Center uses Jonesport for example, it's a town on the coast and only gets 24% of it's funding from the state. Augusta gets 57% because of the property value. Some towns are left scrambling to make up the difference, which puts a massive strain on residents.

So, tell us the plan

Well, a group of lawmakers is looking into how Maine funds it's school and this hotel tax idea is a possibly fix. The goal is to have a more balanced and fair system that doesn't rely so much on local property taxes.

For now, according to the report, studies are being done and we'll have to wait and see if this "hotel tax for schools" idea receives the support it needs to pass, as per the post.

So, what do you think? Should visitors that book hotels from away help fund Maine's schools? Let me know what you think!