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There are 61 students at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington who are experiencing homelessness. That represents nearly 9 percent of the school’s 700-student population.

These are students who are living in shelters, bouncing between temporary homes, doubling up with other families, living day to day without fixed overnight housing.

Over the past two years the Mt. Blue Regional School District — which serves students in 10 towns in Franklin County — spent nearly $22,000 to support unhoused students and their families through a Preventing Student Homelessness Program grant. However, those and other funds are dwindling. The district is working fast to get help for these students before the school year starts because the district is required, under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, to provide them with education and other services, including ensuring transportation to school.

At this week’s RSU 9 Board of Directors meeting, Superintendent Christian Elkington reported that he had applied for a $180,000 grant from the Maine State Housing Authority to boost funding. Just days later, he received a letter saying the request was rejected. 

He said he was “disgusted” by the agency’s response, and now the district has little time to find funding. We have a story explaining what happened and what’s needed.

All of the stories published by Monitor Local are written by freelancers, some of whom are former professional journalists, and others who are motivated to cover local news that’s important to their communities. 

In partnership with Journalism New England, we offer a training program for people who are interested in joining our work. For more information about the program and application process, click here. The deadline to apply for our next Career Lab is Aug. 21.

If you’re interested in freelance work but not interested in this training opportunity, please reach out to me at judy@themainemonitor.org. I’d love to hear from you.

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Developer proposes 14 apartments for former Advertiser Democrat building in Norway: Planning Board opens review of project aimed at preserving 1 Pikes Hill while meeting a Sept. 3 deadline for housing funds. Read this story by Makayla Morello

A former Spruce Mountain teacher and track coach is facing assault charges following alleged incident with female student: Multiple sources associated with the school district say the student was bruised during an incident at a track meet. Read this story by Bob Neal

RSU 9 leaders angered by state rejection of student homelessness grant: The wording in the rejection letter from the Maine State Housing Authority, received just days after submission, was called “insulting.” Read this story by Ben Hanstein

Farmington continues talks on intersection cameras, addresses public privacy concerns: As officials advance a federal camera grant, they are forming a steering committee to shape use policies and clarifying that the funds cannot be redirected to local repairs. Read this story by Ben Hanstein

Maine resort town can’t find volunteers to fix its housing problem: Rangeley’s predicament is a distilled example of two statewide issues: second home buyers making housing expensive for crucial service workers and a lack of interest in the lower levels of government that are working to solve the problem. Read this story by Daniel O'Connor of The Maine Monitor and Bangor Daily News

Maine hospitals brace for Medicaid cuts: Thousands of people are expected to lose Medicaid, but no one knows exactly who will lose coverage or which parts of Maine will be hit hardest. Read this story by Rose Lundy

Maine moves to strengthen mobile home park oversight: The Maine Manufactured Housing Board has been dissolved and its responsibilities transferred to the Maine Office of Community Affairs, which is still working out exactly what the new regulatory structure will look like. Read this story by Caitlin Andrews

Former Maine congressional candidate admits mistake in GoFundMe appeal for donations: This week, after an inquiry from The Maine Monitor, Paige Loud changed the language on a fundraising page to make clear she was trying to cover personal expenses, not pay off campaign debt. Read this story by Matt Junker

Biddeford shooting renews questions about ICE tactics, training: As state and federal investigations into the Biddeford shooting get underway, a review of previous Maine cases show how investigations into use of force often lean heavily on officers’ perception of potential harm. Read this story by Caitlin Andrews and Sean Scott

How we reported on addiction treatment in Maine’s jails: A behind-the-scenes look at and key takeaways from a recent four-part series. Read this story by Emily Bader

The Monitor, MCPIR announce new board member, C-SPAN partnership: Mike Federle retired as Chief Executive Officer of Forbes Media after seven years of leading the global media brand. Read this story

The following stories are from other newsrooms. While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind a paywall, some newsrooms we link to below may. Paywalled stories are followed by a ($). We encourage you to consider supporting local Maine newsrooms.

Gov. Janet Mills has dedicated $136 million to fund delayed transportation projects | Maine Public

The Red Cross is warning that its supply of blood is at one of its lowest levels in history | Spectrum News Maine

Phillips will hold a special town meeting on Aug. 8 to pay for a plow truck, a fire department vehicle and a full-time clerk’s position | Rangeley Highlander ($)

The CDC is tracking an unusually high number of salmonella cases tied to backyard poultry | Maine Public

Andover will hold a special election on Aug. 10 to fill a vacancy on its Board of Selectmen. Finding candidates for the office has been a problem. | Bethel Citizen ($)

Online scams and other crimes are on the rise in Maine, with residents losing an average of $280 per person | Public News Service

Conservation groups have raised $62 million to protect 78,000 acres of land around the Magalloway River | Maine Public

An armed robbery at a marijuana growing facility in Belgrade has law enforcement sounding the alarm | WGME

Many employers in Maine are now required to include salary ranges for job listings | WMTW

Skowhegan board denies license for traveling jewelry, antiques dealer | Morning Sentinel ($)

KVCC logging program fast-tracks students to be job-ready in 20 weeks | WABI

Have feedback, a correction or know of something we should look into? Send it to our newsroom. You can reach Monitor Local editor Judy Meyer directly via email:  judy@themainemonitor.org. 

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.

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