THE LOW-INCOME, HEAVILY IMMIGRANT city of Chelsea is getting over $2,600 per pupil more in state education aid than it did two years ago. That translates to nearly $19 million in additional funds each year going into the district’s $118 million budget. Mary Bourque, a former Chelsea superintendent and now director of government affairs for […]
Student Opportunity Act
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Legislature will increase school funding next year
THE LEGISLATURE HAS agreed to take a more generous approach to funding public schools next year than Gov. Charlie Baker did, responding to concerns from education advocates that Baker’s proposal was inadequate. The legislative approach reflects a different time frame for phasing in an updated school funding formula, and the creation of a new fund to help districts that saw pandemic-related enrollment drops. But some advocates are still unhappy […]
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School advocates call Baker’s funding proposal inadequate
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said Wednesday that his budget proposal for next year fully funds the first year of the Student Opportunity Act, the overhaul of the state’s education funding formula that was supposed to have gone into effect this year. But some public school advocates say the governor’s level of funding is inadequate to meet students’ […]
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Education funding shortfall could spur new lawsuit
WHEN MASSACHUSETTS LAWMAKERS passed a landmark rewrite of the state’s school funding formula last year, it was done with a lawsuit hanging over their heads. Now, advocates are keeping a close eye on the law’s fulfillment – and say they will consider filing another suit if the new formula is not funded this year. “We initially filed a lawsuit because the […]
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5 ideas for generating better school district improvement plans
GATEWAY CITY EDUCATORS returned to school following the winter break pinching themselves. Just before the holidays, Gov. Baker signed the Student Opportunity Act (SOA), a landmark bill that promises to deliver $1.4 billion annually in new state aid. Districts now have until April 1 to file spending plans with the state detailing how they will […]
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The new Massachusetts ‘grand bargain’ in public education
ANY PARENT WHO has watched her child walk into school for their first day of kindergarten – or dropped her off at college some 13 years later – knows it is a day fraught with some amount of panic. You hope you have prepared her for the road ahead, but there is no way to […]
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With education bill-signing, cheers and challenges
AFTER YEARS OF false starts and Beacon Hill standoffs on a growing funding crisis that has seen school districts shed hundreds of teachers and pare back vital curriculum offerings to balance budgets, Gov. Charlie Baker signed landmark legislation on Tuesday committing the state to $1.5 billion in new aid to Massachusetts schools. There was a […]
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Agreement reached on ed funding bill
LAWMAKERS HAVE REACHED agreement on a long-awaited education funding bill, setting the stage for the most significant update to the formula for financing Massachusetts school districts since the landmark 1993 Education Reform Act. The bill, which emerged after less than three weeks of closed-door negotiations by House and Senate members, would steer $1.5 billion in […]
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State oversight critical in education bill
AS HOUSE MEMBERS on Beacon Hill prepare to debate and vote Wednesday on the Student Opportunity Act, Massachusetts stands at a crucial moment in charting the course of education funding and improvement. For the sake of our students, families, and communities – as well as for the sake of our economy and democracy — it’s […]