SCARBOROUGH — As the cost of education continues to rise, a coalition of Maine educators, parents, students and business owners is fighting to ensure equal learning opportunities across the state.

The coalition officially launched its Stand Up for Students initiative in Scarborough on Friday, the beginning of a massive statewide effort to encourage people to vote “yes” on Question 2 of the ballot referenda on Nov. 8.

Question 2 asks voters if they want to establish a fund to advance public kindergarten through grade 12 by adding a 3 percent tax on Maine taxable income above $200,000. That means for every $1,000 of taxable income made over $200,000, a person’s taxes will be raised by $30, should the initiative pass in November.

If passed by voters, state funding for public education is projected to increase by $157 million, according to the initiative’s website.

The initiative comes more than a decade after voters in Maine chose to have 55 percent of education costs funded by the state, which has yet to happen, according to John Kosinski, campaign manager for Stand Up for Students.

“The 55 percent passed in 2003-2004 was never funded,” Kosinski said. “I think there’s a lot of support in Augusta when you talk to the officials, but so far there’s been no way to do it.”

Kosinski said the state has mostly relied on property taxes to fund education until now, and that the Stand Up for Students initiative provides a concrete framework for bringing money to the state for education that lessens the tax burden on less wealthy Mainers.

“Right now we’re relying too much on property taxes to fund our schools and that’s because of the state’s failure to fund public education,” Kosinski said. “The wealthiest Mainers have benefited from tax cuts. This is trying to bring fairness back to the tax.”

In Biddeford, where School Superintendent Jeremy Ray says only 38 percent of education costs are funded by the state, the benefits of the initiative are immense. If passed, the initiative could bring an additional $3.5 million to Biddeford schools each year.

“That’ll have a real impact for Biddeford schools and Biddeford kids,” Kosinski said.

According to Stand Up for Students, if the initiative were already in place for the previous school year, Biddeford would have received an additional $3.3 million in state funding. Sanford would have received just over $2 million.

Ray said in June he was unsure he agreed with the initiative’s plan to tax income over $200,000. On Monday he said he isn’t sure how the tax would affect businesses in the area. He also expressed concern that the $157 million figure would not actually be raised, stating, “There’s a lot of variables in this on paper.”

Ray also said Monday he isn’t sure how Biddeford schools would use the money, whether it be to add new initiatives or to better fund programs already in place. Should the initiative pass, Ray said he would want to lessen the tax burden for local taxpayers.

“It’s a question of how much money in additional aid you would get, but at the same time I think we have to have combinations. If the state’s not funding enough, there’d have to be a balance between new programs and initiatives and what the local taxpayers might want,” Ray said. “Taxes wouldn’t be as high if we were funded at 55 percent. We didn’t say, ‘If the state gave us $3.5 million, more what would we add?’”

Still, Ray said he hopes the initiative passes.

“I want to see this actually work … it sounds wonderful,” Ray said.

Kosinski said he has yet to see any major opposition to the initiative, saying he believes the plan is fair and the wealthy in Maine are able to see that.

“Honestly we haven’t seen opposition emerge yet,” Kosinski said. “The wealthiest have benefitted from two huge tax cuts in 2011 and 2015. This is trying to bring a lot of fairness back. I think a lot of wealthy people support our public schools and believe in quality education. I think folks will continue to rally around this and support it.”

When asked if there would be an event to garner support for the initiative in Biddeford, Kosinski said there is nothing currently planned but an event could be likely because, “we have a lot of support in Biddeford.”

As the months draw on until the election, Kosinski said the coalition will be canvassing for voters and blowing up social media to encourage constituents to vote “yes” on Question 2 in November.

“This is going to be a real grassroots campaign,” Kosinski said. “From now until November you’re going to see a growing drumbeat of support.”

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or abennett@journaltribune.com.