We did something--or rather didn't do something--at last night's #WorcSchools Cmte that won't get a lot of attention that I'm proud of us on and maybe will give folks some hope.
(let me note here again that I am sharing this SOLELY in my capacity as a #WorcSchools Cmte member, not in any others, and this is in no way advice or guidance)
And right up front, let me give a h/t to @AntDambrosioMA of the Revere SC for making me think about it.
@AntDambrosioMA You may or may not have been following this, but among the myriad things US Ed has put out is revamped Title IX regulations on investigating sexual harassment and assault.
The revamps are problematic, to put it lightly.
They're SO problematic that 18 state attorneys general are suing the federal government on this (including, bless her, our own @MassAGO) gazettenet.com/Advocates-pres…
so colleges, universities, and K-12 schools were supposed to have new policies in place by two weeks ago.
Worcester's a little late on this, so ours was on last night.
As I said earlier, I hadn't really thought about it beyond cheering on our AG until Anthony voted no a few weeks back and tweeted about it.
As is probably clear, being the sole 'no' doesn't bother me, so I went into last night heading that way.
But you don't, or I don't, want to do something like that without explaining why, so I did, commenting that the way in which this shifted the power back to the accused (where it traditionally has been) was really problematic for me, and that I couldn't support it.
I'd also asked around on what would happen if we didn't update our policy, and the answer was that the next time the district has a review of its adherence to federal policies (which happens every few years), we'll get a finding.
I can live with that.
And I also said that some of us are holding out hope for a new administration in January that would change the regulations *again* and/or for the AG to win in court.
And then something kind of amazing happened.
The Mayor made a motion to hold, pending further action (essentially federal change or legal change).
And it was a unanimous vote.
I share this for a couple of reasons:
First, go Worcester, & go Mayor Petty.
Second, as I said, thanks to Anthony for sharing his vote (& hooray for Twitter for making that possible).
Third, this is why when I say 'don't preview your vote; deliberation is a process,' I mean it.
And finally: know hope. Let's starting making plans for what comes next.
Wait, I’m wrong in the vote. It was 6-1, Biancheria opposed. Sorry! Working without notes from the train.
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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?