Debate of the Resolutions: 2017 Delegate Assembly at the MASC conference

Posting today from the MASC Delegate Assembly down that the Joint MASS/MASC Conference. The resolutions they are considering today can be found here.
reading of the resolutions is waived

Resolution 1 is on the movement of the Chapter 70 funding date to March 15
Motion from the floor to postpone; technical schools are concerned about the March date
Framingham: "anyone coming in after October not only is unfunded for that year; it's unfunded for the next year"
"a friendly amendment to change the date to accommodate regional schools as long as we can capture that peak so they don't go two years, but only the ending of one"
regional schools are already deliberating budget in spring
motion to amend the resolution to set December 31 as a count date
Arlington: "tremendous sympathy for this motion"
"impractical solution unto itself"
would urge you to support the motion to postpone this
New Bedford: "think it's essential that this body make some determination on this resolution"
"October 2 would be better than October 1"
uses example of students evacuating Puerto Rico
...missed where this was from...has to be a way to both solve the students moving back and still count the students for the following year
"the funding has to move with the student back from a charter school or back from a vocational school"
"not sure that March 15 does us much better...my budget is already set for the upcoming town meeting in March"
South Shore Vo-Tech: a lot of pluses and minuses
why not send a memo and ask what way to solve the problem: "who knows better than superintendents of schools"
Silver Lake; "please understand that by adopting the resolution, we're not changing state law"
"the resolution is to send a message the way its being done is inappropriate"
Somerville "even if we can't find the perfect date, we should find some date...finding the perfect date is missing the forest of the trees"
Salem: "we don't want to destroy the good for the perfect"
Framingham: I agree that if March is too late to do that count, December is too early: January, February, and March are peak enrollment dates
would move to amend January 31
motion to move the question BUT motion on the floor is to postpone
resolution would go back to Resolutions Committee
and we're having a debate over parliamentary procedure 
vote to end debate carries
motion to postpone resolution goes to a hand vote: FAILS
Amendment on resolution now is count on January 31: goes to a hand count
Amendment of January 31 PASSES 51 to 31
Main resolution goes to a vote: passes on a voice vote

Resolution 2 on the reform on circuit breaker
Framingham: rising sped costs, pretty soon it's going to be our whole budget
no discussion
passes on a voice vote

Resolution 3 on litigation on the Foundation Budget, including use of MASC funds if it seems viable
New Bedford, speaking as Vice Chair of Division IX
"many of us in the urbans have heard from our legislators say 'maybe if the millionaires tax passes'...we know that we need it in our schools"
"imperative that we get out ahead of it"
Deerfield: asks if there would be a limit on spending
Chair: would go to the Board
motion PASSES on a voice vote

Resolution 4: requires that any change in the status of a district requires support of effected towns
bans "coercing or mandating" by DESE
PASSES unanimously on a voice vote

Resolution 5: on DESE's overhead on grants
Salem: "the money is designed to help the children, not to feed the bureaucracy"
passes on a voice vote

Resolution 6: FBRC passage and reconvening
Worcester: urges passage

Resolution 7: Affordable Care Act and Medicaid
Dighton Rehobeth feels that ACA "has been a hot button issue and school committees should stay out of it"
and it has been a federal issue
Amends to drop any discussion of the ACA
missed the district..."don't believe this amendment does us much good"
"without that [reimbursement] loss of funding"
"stand behind our state as it is standing behind us at the federal level"
another: this is about the children in our towns, not about the constituents in those towns
Dudley Charlton: "didn't feel comfortable talking about the ACA"
Somerville: "I want to speak to this notion that we should not wade into hot button issues on behalf of our students...we cannot possible do [our job] without wading into hot button issues..."
"if you aren't willing to stand up on hot button issues on behalf of our children...I might suggest a different line of work"
Leominster: against amendment "I'd like to have that line in black" on full reimbursement
Vote on amendment: fails
New Bedford: point is to have Medicaid going back to districts, not to town
resolution passes on a voice vote
and ADJOURNED