The Speaker says 'no' on education formula review this year

 From State House News Service from last week (which no one appears to have picked up, so this is behind a paywall; I assure you this is the whole education funding section): 

No Chapter 70 Reform In The House This Year

Though Mariano promised that the House Ways and Means budget proposal will continue funding free school meals for all public school students and commit to fully funding the Student Opportunity Act, he told reporters that reform of the school funding formula is off the table.

Superintendents, school committee members and public school students have made their case at budget hearings for the state to overhaul the Chapter 70 funding formula for public schools, saying that small- to mid-sized districts are facing a financial crisis resulting in teacher layoffs, program cuts and even school closures.

Asked after the chamber event if the House would consider changes to the formula this year — something that Senate President Karen Spilka has signaled an interest in — Mariano said no.

"No. Too much uncertainty," he said, shaking his head.

He did say the House plans to continue funding Commonwealth Cares for Children early education and child care grants, a $475 million program that began with federal dollars during COVID-19 and the state has since taken on.

Overall, Mariano said the House would spend "more than a billion dollars" on the EEC sector. Gov. Maura Healey recommended $1.8 billion in state support for early childhood education in her fiscal year 2026 budget, a 20% increase from fiscal 2025.

Mariano said the House plans to take up legislation aimed to bolster access to early college programming for Bay State students, and voiced his support for three-year college degrees. The Board of Higher Education is considering regulations to allow students to achieve their bachelor's degree with less than the typically-mandated 120-credits.

"I was pleased to see that the Board of Higher Education moved to consider adopting this innovative approach. A reduced bachelor's degree would be especially beneficial to non-traditional students, and it will allow graduates to enter the workforce sooner and with less debt. This is the kind of fresh idea we need in education right now," he said during his speech to business leaders.

 "Too much uncertainty" includes "whatever we do is going to cost more," of course.

I am doomed to have the same discussion over and over forever

 The FY24 net school spending report was released yesterday.

if you click this, it will get bigger

Here’s a zoom in of the current year:

In words, that's "you didn't meet required spending last year by $5,548,031; you are required to make up for it this year, and you are not budgeted to do so."

Massachusetts responds

 DESE released this just a few minutes ago. 

While not as combative as Minnesota's, it does footnote the greeting, which one must admire. That isn't just passive aggressive--though it is!--it also points out how they're dodging someone taking responsibility for this mess.

And footnote 3! The Paperwork Reduction Act! 

Also note that this is the state saying districts have no responsibility to respond on their own. 

"you know what we mean" certification from U.S. Ed

There's much to be said about the U.S. Department of Education's Thursday demand that states and districts sign that they "aren't doing DEI" to continue to receive federal funds, but the thing that keeps coming to mind for me is this Monty Python skit: 

You know, DEI! You know what we mean!
No, we don't, Secretary McMahon. Please be more specific!

Worcester did what?

Plenty of press last week on the announcement* of the Worcester School Committee voting to become part of the lawsuit against President Trump, Secretary of Education McMahon, and the U.S. Department of Education, which argues that the elimination of the Department would be harmful, and in fact, the cuts of employees that have already occurred are harmful, mostly due to federal funding. 

If, like me, you learned the word "declarant" from this, welcome. This means that Worcester is not itself actually suing--that's Somerville Public Schools, Easthampton** Public Schools, AFT-MA, AFSCME, and AAPU--but is supporting the position of the plaintiffs officially. 

Note, by the way, that's the School Committee taking action here, as they're essentially the legal entity of the district (for all that they mostly weren't the "face" of the press).

______________________

*I think? This appears to have only been done in executive session?
** for those surprised by Maureen Binienda's vote in favor: she's currently the interim superintendent of Easthampton

Massachusetts may be "under attack" but so is everywhere else

The end of the federal ESSER extension announced by Trump Secretary of Education McMahon Friday hit the Massachusetts news wires today, largely because the executive branch issued a frankly not very helpful press release, which goes for impact without starting with what the funding actually is. 

And now we have news articles and headlines that are only making that worse, so in lieu of banging my head against the train window here, let's try to parse more of this out.

New Bedford Light interviews Superintendent Andrew O'Leary

 Cheering for large sections of today's New Bedford Light interview with Superintendent Andrew O'Leary: 

Soon after Trump took office this year, O’Leary got some social media and talk radio flak because he had sent out a letter to school staff informing them that the New Bedford district follows state guidelines that restrict building and information access from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities.

O’Leary feels strongly about his system’s immigrant students. He spoke at a Saturday City Hall rally, objecting to a March 21 New Bedford raid where, he said, several children who attend city schools “woke up to terror” when federal agents in military fatigues broke the door to their home.  

He says the criticism hasn’t bothered him because as superintendent he’s the person who can better deal with rebukes so staff can go about their jobs educating and protecting children. He is particularly concerned, he said, about continuing the New Bedford schools’ inclusive philosophy toward marginalized populations like undocumented immigrants and transgender and nonbinary people.

“All the criticism came to me because you have seen scenarios out there, around the state and around the nation, where this individual teacher and this individual principal got targeted,” he said. His voice then grew quiet. “I would hate to see that” in New Bedford, he said.

And also: 

 Business roundtable-type organizations, he said, have incorrectly convinced the public that schools should be about producing skilled, high-earning graduates for the commercial sector.

That’s the wrong paradigm, according to the superintendent.

“I think we’ve listened to the wrong people around that, and what it does is, it diminishes what a school actually is for: its community,” he said. “It’s a place where students grow and flourish and develop as young people who can contribute to society in all sorts of ways.”

O’Leary is doing nothing less than laying down a marker that the New Bedford schools are not about business or careers or even getting into college, but rather about boosting the people of the city and how they feel about themselves.

“What concerns me the most is that these are community assets,” he said. “Schools are the hubs of neighborhoods. Schools, where our young people are, are one of the most important things that society invests in, and they belong to the community.”

Public schools have traditionally been thought of as something for the whole group, not for one individual, he said.

“Eroding a community asset is something we should raise concern about,” O’Leary said.

Yes, indeed! More of this, please!