Thank you to all of you who passionately advocated for a budget that centers our students. The school board approved the FY25 budget which is now in the hands of the City Council who is scheduled to vote on it on May 20th. The public referendum on the school budget is June 11th.

Our next step is to advocate at the State level for robust school funding through state funding and/or other funding options. Cognizant of the fact that there are many of us who are not familiar with the state's legislative body and its processes, Portland Public Schools have invited the Maine Women's Lobby (who has done a lot of work on legislative advocacy, systems change and community lobbying) to lead a workshop on Navigating the State Legislature on Wednesday, May 22, from 5:30-6:45 pm at Deering High School.

Thank you very much!