Education advocates blast pols for inactivity on funding formula
Legal action against state threatened
State education leaders and advocates are slamming the Legislature for failing to take up the long-anticipated education foundation budget recommendations before this year’s session ended — an omission that may be ammunition for districts to launch a lawsuit against the state and to start a new statewide teacher-led campaign.
The Joint Committee on Education was down to the wire to update the 25-year-old education foundation budget formula. A 2015 review commission found the formula was underfunding schools by $1 billion to $2 billion a year in four specific areas — health benefits for teachers, special education, costs for English language learners and costs for low-income students.
Negotiations, however, collapsed in the final hour Tuesday, leaving many livid. The dead-end talks came as Brockton school officials and others around the state are exploring whether to sue the state over inadequate school aid.
“I’m very disappointed,” Brockton Public Schools Superintendent Kathleen Smith told the Herald. “I wanted to remain hopeful in this budget cycle . ... In the next budget cycle, you will see some legal action.”
“It is a sad day when kids and people who work to serve kids have to sue us to get us to fulfill our constitutional obligation,” state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, co-chairwoman of the education committee, told the Herald.
“We offered multiple versions of major concessions — on structure, on content, on money,” Chang-Diaz said. “In the end, House leadership rejected all our offers, moved the goalposts, and then killed the bill completely — stunningly, by rejecting one of their own proposals.”
Education leaders are arguing that the state is failing its constitutional obligation. The state Constitution says to “cherish” public schools and provide a quality education for children.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association is meeting with members next week and will mount a statewide campaign to pressure state leaders to reform the school funding formula.
“Students will go another year without sufficient funding to meet even their basic needs,” said Massachusetts Teachers Association President Merrie Najimy. “Our students are out of time. Our members will not stand for it. You aren’t cherishing public education if you underfund it.”
Education committee member Rep. Chynah Tyler of Roxbury, however, said she feared the proposals would not have helped struggling schools in Boston.
“We cannot afford to support a version of the bill which is uncertain on how it will be targeted to help our students,” she said.
House conference committee leaders Reps. Alice Peisch, Claire Cronin and Kimberly Ferguson, in a statement, said negotiations were complicated over new state information and more time was needed.
“While the House is disappointed we were not able to come to workable resolution, we remain hopeful and committed to continuing our efforts implementing the Foundation Budget Review Commission’s recommendations,” the statement said.