LAST WEEK, the Legislature passed the Commonwealth’s largest tax relief bill in a generation – and today Gov. Maura Healey will sign the bill into law. The culmination of more than a year of work by the Legislature, this law strikes the critically important balance of providing tangible, permanent financial relief for Massachusetts families, seniors, and […]
Karen Spilka
Posted inOpinion
Senate early education bill could transform childcare landscape
IN THE 19TH CENTURY, Massachusetts pioneered the idea that K-12 education should be a public good, available and accessible to all children and families. Today we take this for granted. But at the time that Horace Mann was leading this movement, it was a revolutionary idea. Three years ago, the Massachusetts Legislature began the process […]
Posted inOpinion
Spilka backs ‘moonshot’ to address caregiving crisis
What follows is an excerpt of Senate President Karen Spilka’s speech on Tuesday to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. I have been particularly struck by the statistics on the devastating effects COVID-19 has had on women in the workplace. Before the pandemic, women in Massachusetts were participating in the workforce at increasing rates, surpassing […]
Posted inOpinion
Telehealth is working, let’s keep it that way
COVID-19 HAS HAD a devastating impact on our lives, our healthcare system, and our economy, but one silver lining has been the immediate and dramatic expansion of telehealth services. We’d be foolish not to seize this opportunity to ensure that telehealth access remains a part of routine medical care in the Commonwealth long after the pandemic is over. […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Investing in quality education for all
OUR COMMONWEALTH’S CONTINUED success depends on our investments today to help our children grow up strong and resilient. While discussions of resilience usually focus on social and emotional wellness and overcoming trauma, there is one bedrock requirement for all children, of all backgrounds, that we ignore at our peril: a quality education. There is no […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
On charters, rise above the divisiveness
BALLOT QUESTIONS ARE blunt instruments. The ballot question on charter school expansion is no exception. It has a very narrow focus, targeted only at increasing the number of students in charter schools. Both pro- and anti-charter groups have pledged tens of millions of dollars to support their efforts, leading to a divisive and costly public […]