A budget reduction of $15.5M.
I am sharing here the images of the relevant pages. Starts on page 264 of the agenda.
These are the cuts being recommended by administration in order to balance the #WorcSchools FY21 budget.
As is noted in the opening of the memo, the July 30 funding "includes Chapter 70 increases for inflation and enrollment only": "the new baseline budget does not include any of the funding for the phase-in of the Student Opportunity Act" which is a $15.5M decrease for #WorcSchools
...which means, yeah, far from that July budget update being what was needed, it's going to hit us.
So the ending part of today's #MAEdu Commissioner memo is pretty exasperating, too. SOA plan? There's no SOA funding.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
I’m sure that sometimes some of you think I am overreacting to the Boston Globe’s education coverage, but you probably couldn’t frame “how is this school funding reform working this year” WORSE than looking at Belmont, Harvard, and Westford.
I could try to invent one, but it’s an incredible manifestation of whom the Globe perceives its audience as AND how poorly it understands the state school funding system.
So I logged off last night to have dinner with my family and write about how the Globe was wrong about school finance (chapter MMXXIII), and it appears I missed some Discourse on Worcester Public Schools funding.
Y’all were busy!
And so, a thread:
Let me first note that when I teach MA school finance (which is part of what I do for work, for those who might be new), I start in 1647, so there’s some history here.
From a Worcester perspective, let’s sum up by saying that the early colonial law that required towns to have schools once they hit a particular size was violated more than once, resulting in the town being fined.
The reason for that is pretty straightforward: Chelsea is three square miles; Franklin County Regional Tech is 500 square miles. Both are Massachusetts school districts. As you might imagine, they spend WILDLY differing amounts on transportation.
What is different between Fall River--and, indeed, any municipal district in Massachusetts--and their neighboring regionals, is, that while BOTH have mandated state reimbursed transportation, only one of those reimbursements gets funded.
finally watching last week's Joint Ways & Means hearing, and appreciate @Jo_Comerford's question on the balance of one time versus sustained funding #MAEdu
she also did a lovely, polite refocus of her question; good chairing!
Cheers also to Sen @AnneGobi for opening her Q to @MassEducation a pointed: "on behalf of the entire Worcester delegation for your thoughtful and spot-on comments regarding the charter school in Worcester. It was extremely appreciated."
ok, good morning, I have a question (just getting to #MAEdu news from yesterday):
This MEEP claim that gaps have widened over the pandemic is based on...what exactly?
We don't yet have the last year's MCAS data. We don't yet have MA NAEP data.
The report cites 2019 to 2021 third grade reading scores, and then percentage of low income 9th graders passing their classes compared to wealthier peers.
Then enrollment in college, which we know dropped...everywhere?