Thursday, March 21, 2019

SIGN: Fully fund Massachusetts' public schools Mary Cowhey

Mary Cowhey<moveon-help@list.moveon.org>
To  Alfred F Johnson  
Dear fellow Massachusetts MoveOn member,
There is an urgent public education funding crisis facing Massachusetts. I'm an elementary educator in Massachusetts public schools, retiring in June after 22 years of teaching. I'm also a mom. I know too well, from all angles, the painful impact of Massachusetts' inability to fully fund our schools.
Students, family members, community members, educators, principals, school staff, and local elected officials are taking to the streets and at the Statehouse next week to urge passage of the PROMISE Act, which will increase state education aid by $1 billion per year for pre-K-12 public schools. I'm asking you to sign on to our call.
Massachusetts legislature, heed the call of countless Commonwealth students, family members, educators, staff, local elected officials, and community members and fully fund our schools, pre-K through grade 12.
When I started teaching first grade in 1997, I had 14 students and a full-time bilingual aide. Twelve years later, I had 26 students and no aide. Among those 26 students, I had more English language learners than before (many of them newcomers to English), more students with learning disabilities, and more students suffering from childhood trauma. I am currently a Title I math teacher, but even though I teach eight groups a day, I can serve only half the grades in my school. My school needs two of me. My math intervention is extremely effective in getting children up to grade level so they will not need special education services, but I can provide services only in first, second, and third grade because of time constraints.

Thus, I will be taking a personal day on Friday, March 22, and making a five-hour bus trip to Boston and back to testify before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Education to call on our legislature to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to fully fund our schools.
Please join me in demanding action from our lawmakers for fair and equitable public education for every student in the Commonwealth.

Back in 2015, the bipartisan Massachusetts Foundation Budget Review Commission found that the Commonwealth's public school funding formula was woefully outdated and that state spending was way too low. The formula for education spending hasn't been updated since 1993!1

This has created a crisis at the local level, with cities and towns and our schools having to make drastic cuts, all of which harm our children's education. It's time to say ENOUGH!

The PROMISE Act, filed by Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz (D-Boston) and Representatives Aaron Vega (D-Holyoke) and Mary Keefe (D-Worcester), would, over a period of time, implement the five core recommendations of the Commission.2

The bulk of the additional funds would go to districts with the greatest need and fewest resources. The formula would be changed to
  • realistically account for districts' health care costs,
  • provide adequate support for English learners and low-income students,
  • account for special education costs, and
  • mitigate losses to charter schools.
The bill is also structured to ensure that every district benefits during the phase-in of reforms and that no one type of reform is front-loaded or back-loaded. And, of course, we also have to account for the unique and pressing needs of rural schools, such as regional transportation and declining enrollment, an effort that gained ground last year but must go much further this session.

We live in precarious times. An educated, creative, hard-working, and compassionate citizenry is the best hope for our future. If we shortchange our schools, we weaken our democracy and jeopardize our future. It's time to fund our future now.
Thanks!
–Mary Cowhey
Sources:
1. "What's Behind The Beacon Hill Battle Over School Funding," WBUR, June 11, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/63979?t=10&akid=229669%2E38417624%2Epgw14O
2. "Here are the basics on the bill to reform how Massachusetts schools are funded," Boston.com, January 11, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/63980?t=12&akid=229669%2E38417624%2Epgw14O
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