MASSACHUSETTS HAS A long and proud commitment to public education. John Adams, the author of our state constitution, saw public education as the spark that would set the fire of democracy alight. Horace Mann championed the once radical idea of a free public education for all children. The Commonwealth’s strong commitment to high quality public […]
Foundation Budget Review Commission
Posted inEducation
Long-awaited education funding bill unveiled
FOUR YEARS AFTER a state commission declared that the Massachusetts education funding formula was shortchanging school districts by $1 to $2 billion, state lawmakers unveiled an ambitious proposal that would increase state aid to local schools by $1.4 billion. The bill goes a long way toward meeting the calls of education advocates and district leaders […]
Posted inEducation
Lawmakers must do right by low-income students
WE WANT WHAT all parents want. We want our kids to succeed, to lead happy lives, to contribute to their communities, to grow up to catch their dreams. We wake up each morning committed to doing everything we can to help them get there — just like all parents do. Yet, even as we work […]
Posted inEducation
Students’ voice missing from ed funding debate
THE DEBATE ON education funding currently swirling inside and outside the State House focuses on what the state is putting into education and how those dollars can support the best possible outcomes for all students. Much of the discussion has focused on helping schools or districts “give our kids the education they deserve,” as Gov. […]
Posted inEducation
Momentum growing for ed funding bill
SIX MONTHS AFTER the clock ran out on negotiations to revamp the state’s education funding formula, a broad coalition of lawmakers, mayors, and school leaders unveiled legislation on Wednesday to finish that work in the new session now underway on Beacon Hill. “There are no more excuses,” said Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, co-chair of the Legislature’s […]
Posted inEducation
Time to rethink education assessments and standards
The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. – Socrates THIS PAST SUMMER saw the failure on the part of the Legislature to arrive at a compromise piece of legislation designed to begin the process of remedying the flaws to educational funding formula […]
Posted inEducation
Senate calls for ed funding formula revamp
STATE OFFICIALS ARE marking the 25th anniversary of the landmark 1993 education reform law with a statewide set of events being held under the banner “Leading the Nation,” a reference to the top performance of Massachusetts students on national achievement tests. But the boasts and bows are colliding with an inconvenient truth: The state’s students […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Time to update state school funding formula
FOR SOME POLICYMAKERS and the public, a billion-dollar budget such as the one granted to Boston Public Schools last fiscal year appears robust — even excessive. But teachers like me know that critical resources are in short supply. Every day, we feel the pinch: There aren’t enough support staff in the building, teachers use personal […]