The three candidates for governor all lamented the decline of standardized test scores among Maine children but shared differing ideas for how the state government should respond, in interviews with The Maine Monitor that highlighted their unique approaches to education policy in a state where school districts retain much local control.

Maine once sat on the leaderboard for national, standardized test performance, but it now hovers at or below the national average on critical topics such as math and reading. 

Democrat Hannah Pingree and independent Rick Bennett largely align on what they would do in response. They both emphasized the importance of early intervention to increase reading and math proficiency. They both support investing in child care and ensuring school districts use proven reading curricula. 

Republican Bobby Charles was less detailed about his plans for education but spoke about the importance of letting teachers teach, improving morale among educators, cutting administrative costs and doing more to ensure students follow their passions.

Hannah Pingree

Pingree, of North Haven, focused on the divergence in performance between wealthier school districts and more rural, low-income and some urban districts. Low-income students and students with disabilities saw the largest drops in scores between 2007 and 2024, according to a Monitor analysis of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. 

Part of the problem stems from resources, Pingree told The Monitor, referencing underpaid teachers and disinvestment in education under former Republican Gov. Paul LePage. In response, she would speed up the increase in minimum teacher pay to $50,000 within two years.

As governor, she would also address the fact that some schools still use ineffective methods of teaching. 

“The science of reading works. There are math programs that work,” Pingree said. “We need to ensure that school districts and teachers are supported in implementing these programs.”

It’s also essential to ensure students are interested in what they’re learning, said Pingree, who is the only candidate with children currently in school. She also served on the school board on North Haven for nine years, a role her mother and father previously filled as well.

“We put a lot of little kids on screens. That’s how they learn math,” she said. “Taking screens out of the school will help, but they still need to be excited about learning. And that’s why I love [career and technical education] programs, for example, and outdoor education.”

Children also need to be better prepared for kindergarten to be more successful later on, she said, which is one reason why she wants to ensure all districts offer free, full-day pre-kindergarten for 4 year olds whose families want it. 

At the same time, she said many people are paying too much in property taxes, which is a major revenue stream for schools. She wants to double the homestead exemption, which would require state funding. The “millionaire’s tax” that the Maine Legislature passed this year — to levy an additional 2 percent tax on income over $1 million for individuals, and over $1.5 million for joint filers and heads of households — was a fair move, she said. As governor, she would also support allowing municipalities to tax second homes owned by non-Maine residents at higher rates.

Pingree previously represented North Haven in the Maine Legislature, serving as House majority leader and House speaker. She was appointed by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to lead the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future in 2019. 

The Maine Education Association, which represents 24,000 teachers and education staff, endorsed Pingree, citing a “100% pro-education voting record.” 

Rick Bennett

Bennett, of Oxford, would also focus on early intervention to improve reading and math proficiency by fourth grade. From parents and preschool teachers, to teachers in elementary school, he said a continuum of people need to address reading in particular.

“Before fourth grade, you learn to read. After fourth grade, you read to learn. And if you are not in a position in your reading, then you’re set up as a person for a lot of hardship going through life,” he said. “It also sets up our economy for hardship, and it sets up our democracy for hardship.”

Bennett — whose father was a public school teacher — said schools should be using evidence-based curricula to teach kids to read. If elected, his administration would provide curricula options for local school districts to choose from, given that curricula are set at the local level. 

“The governor’s role is a little circumscribed by Maine’s Constitution, but this is where the bully pulpit comes in and the appointive authority comes in,” he said. “I will make sure to appoint an education commissioner who is well respected across the state by the education community, particularly by superintendents.” 

He referred to J. Duke Albanese, the education commissioner under former independent Gov. Angus King, as an example of someone respected for his leadership. 

As governor he would also work to align Maine’s early childhood education system, bringing child care — currently overseen by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services — and early education programs — currently overseen by the Maine Department of Education — under one budget and coordinated strategy. 

Bennett’s voting record as a legislator — most of which occurred when he was a Republican — provides an additional reflection of his stances on education policies. Bennett formerly served as chair of the Maine Republican Party. But he announced in June 2025 that he would leave the Republican Party, denouncing the two-party system as a root of government dysfunction, and instead register as an independent.

Earlier that same month, as a state senator, he helped defeat a bill that would have banned transgender athletes from girls’ sports. He was the sole Republican to join the Maine Senate’s 20 Democrats in opposing the ban.

Pingree also opposes a ban on transgender athletes in girls’ sports. Charles supports a ban.

Bennett served as co-chair of the Legislature’s Children’s Caucus, which helped double the wage supplement fund for child care workers to $30 million per year, expanded child care subsidies for low-income parents by $10 million annually, and created a $2.5 million annual program to help child care workers afford care for their own children, according to his campaign.

Bennett voted in June 2025 against a bill — which ultimately failed — that would have taxed annual income over $1 million to help fund the state’s 55-percent public education cost commitment, though he does support the 55-percent obligation. 

He believes Maine should reduce its reliance on property taxes and supports expanding the homestead exemption to provide more property tax relief. 

He also believes it should be up to local districts to decide whether they want to consolidate or close schools to save money as school enrollment drops. 

Bobby Charles

In his interview with The Monitor, Charles — whose mother was a teacher — made broad statements about what he wants to happen in response to declining test scores. He said he is open to hearing people’s ideas, but he believes schools need to reduce administrative costs, and improve teacher pay and overall job satisfaction.

“If you reduce the administrative overhang, you can actually improve teacher salaries. But it’s not just salaries. It has everything to do with morale,” said Charles, of Leeds.

To improve morale, he said schools should return decision-making power to teachers. 

“I want those teachers to feel they have the freedom to teach the way my mother taught for 40 years over here in Monmouth,” he said. “Nobody told her, ‘You have to follow this AI unit, and, if you don’t follow this, you’re going to be disciplined.’ Nobody told her that, ‘If the kids are acting out and you discipline them, you’re going to get disciplined.’”

Similarly, schools should be inspiring students to love learning and to find their passion. 

“If you’re really good with your hands, and you love the concept of electricity, then go be an electrician. If you’re good as a plumber, be that,” he said. “We as kids were encouraged to do that. And I feel like this educational system has fundamentally let down an entire generation of kids.”

Asked for his specific ideas about how to reverse Maine’s slip in test scores, he said, “You have to go to the curriculum, and you have to reinforce the things and encourage teachers to be measured in their own way on the things we want to see as [an] outcome,” he said. “Whatever expectations you set, that’s what people will move toward.”

Charles has said on his campaign site that he wants to “eliminate so-called ‘woke’ indoctrination from classrooms” and that he would provide “parental transparency” into school curricula.

Charles worked in the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, serving in defense, national security and domestic policy roles. He wants to drive down property taxes by ending what he described as unfunded state mandates and increasing the homestead exemption for property owners, he said. He also has a goal to cut income taxes by at least $1 billion in his first year as governor.

The candidates’ educations

Charles earned a bachelor of arts degree from Dartmouth College in 1982. He received a master’s degree from Oxford University in 1984 and a law degree from Columbia University Law School in 1987. At Columbia, Charles was named a Tony Patino Fellow and completed a human rights fellowship in rural India.

Bennett earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University in 1986 and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern Maine in 2000. 

Pingree earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brown University in 1998. She then completed the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs, a year-long fellowship aimed at training future civic leaders.

Early voting is currently underway. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Matt Junker contributed reporting by interviewing the candidates.

This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor, a nonprofit civic news organization. To get regular coverage from The Monitor, sign up for a free Monitor newsletter here.