Increase Maine Maritime Academy funding

MSEA-SEIU Director and Maine Maritime Academy Associate Professor Jake Simmons, MSEA-SEIU Director and Maine Maritime Academy Systems Integration Specialist Jake Adams, Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross and Maine Maritime Academy President Jerry Paul, all from left, share a moment after discussing the need to increase State funding for Maine Maritime Academy.

MSEA-SEIU Director and Maine Maritime Systems Integration Specialist Jake Adams testified Feb. 14, on his own time and as a member of our union, in support of additional funding for Maine Maritime Academy before the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, and the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. Excerpt:

By Jake Adams
MSEA-SEIU Director

I would like to testify in favor of the additional funding for Maine Maritime Academy. I live in Holden and work at Maine Maritime Academy in the IT department as a systems integration specialist, primarily working with Admissions and Financial Aid; I also serve on the board of MSEA-SEIU.

Additional funding for Maine Maritime Academy is critical. We have the opportunity to be recognized as the #1 Maritime Academy in the US and perhaps the world but we cannot achieve this running at our current levels of funding. Presently, comparable institutions SUNY, Texas A&M, Cal Maritime, etc. receive roughly 44% of their operating budget from their state. We receive 22% of our operating budget from the state. Similarly, institutions within the state that have a comparable number of FTEs receive around 44% of their operating budget from the state.

The lack of parity with regard to funding, however, has a lot of negative consequences, the main one being we have higher tuition than most comparable schools. Other schools capitalize on that fact. Maine Maritime Academy is 483% more expensive to attend than Mass Maritime for in-state tuition and out-of-state tuition is 49% higher (source: U.S. Department of Education and College Scorecard).I also know our graduates tend to become endeared to our state. I know of a number of former students who purchase property in the state, vacation in the state, and after some sea time, even become employed in the state. I feel strongly that an investment in our institution brings a good return on investment for our state. I implore you to keep the additional funding for Maine Maritime Academy in the budget.