LIVE OUTSIDE CITY HALL WITH THE DETAILS. WELL THESE ARE HIGH STAKES BALLOT QUESTIONS FOR THE CITY OF PORTLAND. THE CITY COUNCIL TONIGHT WILL DECIDE WHETHER TO PUT THEM ON THE BALLOT OR TO ENACT THEM OUTRIGHT, AND THE HEARING IS EXPECTED TO BE A CLASH OF IDEOLOGIES BETWEEN PORTLAND'S BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA. ?THE BALLOT INITIATIVES WOULD GIVE PORTLAND AN $18 MINIMUM WAGE WHICH WOULD BE THE 3RD HIGHEST OF ANY COMMUNITY IN AMERICA. THEY WOULD END THE TIPPED WAGE FOR SERVERS, RESTRICT SHORT TERM RENTALS, AND SEVERELY CURTAIL CRUISE SHIPS FROM COMING TO PORTLAND. CITY OFFICIALS AND BUSINESS LEADERS SAY THAT THE REFERENDUM SYSTEM IS BROKEN AND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD DECIDE THESE ISSUES, WHILE THE LOCAL DSA SAYS THAT ITS THE CITY COUNCIL ITSELF THAT IS BROKEN. THESE REALLY ROBUST AND COMPLEX POLICY ISSUES DESERVE THE TIME AND THE ATTENTION AND THE DELIBERATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN PORTLAND OF OTHER STAKEHOLDERS. WHAT IS BROKEN IS A COUNCIL THAT'S AFRAID TO MAKE BOLD CHANGES THAT THE CITY HAS VOTED THEM TO DO. AND IF THEY CONTINUE TO NOT DO ANYTHING, WE WILL CONTINUE TO GO TO THE PEOPLE AND, AND MAKE THINGS THAT WE NEED HAPPEN. ?NOW IF THE COUNCIL DID ADOPT THESE MEASURES OUTRIGHT TONIGHT, THEY WOULD THEN HAVE THE POWER TO ALTER THEM. IF THEY GO TO THE BALLOT AND ARE ENACTED, THEN THE COUNCIL WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ALTER THEM FOR 5 YEARS. ALL THINGS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT FOR TONIGHT'S HEARING, WHICH WILL START AT 6:15. LIVE AT CITY HALL, JAMES CORRIGAN, WMTW NEWS
Maine school system prepares for influx of asylum-seekers
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Updated: 5:42 PM EDT Aug 8, 2022
Saco school officials admit it might be a tight squeeze at Burns Elementary School, which serves grades three through five, but there is enough room in all the other schools as they make adjustments to accommodate all students.A sign above a hotel entrance Monday welcomes asylum-seeking families as they move into their temporary home. Many of the families have young children.Some of the city's five schools have already resorted to adding modular classrooms, such as those at Young School. A new addition underway is being built with federal funds to allow for extra space if they need it, so that the timing couldn't be better, school officials said.Officials said the community need not worry about whether the new asylum-seekers will strain the school system."When you take 100 families, it seems like a lot of kids, but when you divide them up between pre-K through grade 12 – if it's five, six, seven kids per grade, we are able to absorb most of those kids into our classrooms," said Chris Indorf, director of operations for Saco Schools."This kind of diversity is enriching for communities," said Julie Allaire of Catholic Charities Maine. The organization has been doing resettlement work for 40 years. Catholic Charities Maine is assisting in this project. The agency said with Maine's shrinking workforce, these new residents bring future potential."People from African countries, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola are bringing that youthful energy. They are bringing new vitality to these communities," Allaire said.Maine Housing said the hotel and the services will cost about $5 million, which is paid for through a portion of the state's supplemental budget for emergency housing. The added cost to the school system is estimated at $1.2 million."In subsequent years, we recoup all of these funds in the form of state subsidy, but there's a one-year lag," Indorf said.Asylum-seeking families will continue to move into the hotel over the next month or so, with the start of the school year just around the corner. The first day of school is set for Aug. 31.
SACO, Maine — Saco school officials admit it might be a tight squeeze at Burns Elementary School, which serves grades three through five, but there is enough room in all the other schools as they make adjustments to accommodate all students.
A sign above a hotel entrance Monday welcomes asylum-seeking families as they move into their temporary home. Many of the families have young children.
Some of the city's five schools have already resorted to adding modular classrooms, such as those at Young School. A new addition underway is being built with federal funds to allow for extra space if they need it, so that the timing couldn't be better, school officials said.
Officials said the community need not worry about whether the new asylum-seekers will strain the school system.
"When you take 100 families, it seems like a lot of kids, but when you divide them up between pre-K through grade 12 – if it's five, six, seven kids per grade, we are able to absorb most of those kids into our classrooms," said Chris Indorf, director of operations for Saco Schools.
"This kind of diversity is enriching for communities," said Julie Allaire of Catholic Charities Maine. The organization has been doing resettlement work for 40 years. Catholic Charities Maine is assisting in this project. The agency said with Maine's shrinking workforce, these new residents bring future potential.
"People from African countries, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola are bringing that youthful energy. They are bringing new vitality to these communities," Allaire said.
Maine Housing said the hotel and the services will cost about $5 million, which is paid for through a portion of the state's supplemental budget for emergency housing. The added cost to the school system is estimated at $1.2 million.
"In subsequent years, we recoup all of these funds in the form of state subsidy, but there's a one-year lag," Indorf said.
Asylum-seeking families will continue to move into the hotel over the next month or so, with the start of the school year just around the corner. The first day of school is set for Aug. 31.
