Some words from Secretary Tutwiler

Much of the time when someone like the Secretary speaks, the reporting (if there is any) focuses on the policy piece. This was true again yesterday, as reporting on Secretary Tutwiler's remarks at the Conditions of Education in the Commonwealth" event by the Rennie Center focused on early literacy. 

And no complaints! We need to know that!

But I also think it matters when our educational leadership gets it, when they show where their values are, when we can see that they're thinking holistically and about all involved. I thought Secretary Tutwiler's closing yesterday did that, so I am sharing those words here:

We promise to advance equity and inclusion, because every student deserves an education system where we’ve eliminated barriers and practices that further existing disparities. 

 We will maintain a holistic perspective, because every student deserves an education system that encompasses the broad array of factors that impact their learning and development, including but not limited to mental and physical well-being and their hierarchical needs. 

 We will embrace collaboration, because every student deserves an education system that values and embraces the perspective, experience, and expertise of the communities it serves. 

 We will champion innovation, because every student deserves an education system that welcomes bold, new ideas, sources input from a broad constituency, and strives for excellence through innovation. 

 And just as we bring our passion for student success to this work, we also bring our encouragement of one another as colleagues. 

We will strive to center fulfillment, because every student deserves an education system powered by joy and resilience. 

 Those values, from equity to innovation, describe the north star we’re envisioning for ourselves, for our schools, for our educators, and for our students. 

But we can’t do it alone. 

We rely on the partners in the room to carry out the investments, policies, and the work needed to meet these goals. 

So, thank you for your continued support. And together, we’ll strive onward.

A quick note on Thursday's upcoming Worcester School Committee

With the agenda for Thursday's Worcester School Committee meeting now posted, it seems we may need a quick explainer on a Worcester (it's part of Plan E) process, as Member Maureen Binienda has filed for reconsideration of the motion to allow students to march in graduation who have yet to complete 2 credits or fewer, a vote which she lost at the last meeting, 8-1.
I wrote about this back in 2014, but let's walk through how this works for this upcoming meeting.

Three things to pay attention to from last week's Board of Ed

In the days since Tuesday's Board of Ed, I've been reflecting on a few places where the meeting raised some flags with me.

The first Worcester School Committee meeting of the new term

The Worcester School Committee had their first business meeting of the new term (and new makeup) on January 18.
While I noted the change in the budget bottom line settled at the meeting (also noted by the T&G), it seems clear that this Committee where keeping the record straight is going to be necessary, and, while I do want to recommend you take a look at Bill Shaner's piece on last week, I think keeping track of what's going on will be helpful (and the tracking was kinda shaky in this meeting, to be honest, with roll calls consistently out of order and reported incorrectly more than once).
As always, I'm not going to pretend here to be anything other than what and who I am, writing as a citizen of the city, so you can read with that in mind. The commentary is largely in italics. 

For those who might find it useful on municipal contribution

I was over at Wachusett Regional this week, presenting on state school funding with a focus on how municipal contribution is calculated. Sharing the recording and the presentation should it be useful to others. 

I do think for regionals in particular having a solid, shared understanding of how municipal contribution is calculated is really important. 

Governor Healey FY25 budget recommendation

On Monday night, I did a presentation on this year's state budget for a group of western Mass school committee members and superintendents. My 48 hours ahead forecast looked like this:

What do we know about FY25?
The good news:
Governor Healey has committed to funding full funding of Chapter 70including year of implementation of the Student Opportunity Act.
The less great news:
The revenue picture has been grim, which may well tighten other accounts outside of Chapter 70.
The inflation rate in Chapter 70 is just over 1%

On Wednesday, Governor Healey shared her FY25 budget recommendation. The Chapter 70 preliminary spreadsheets are here. And the preliminary cherry sheet estimates are here.

I plan to do a spreadsheet, as I have in past years, of the K-12 accounts. I do want to cover a few bigger things here, though. 

First, we don't tend to talk a lot about the revenue side, except possibly from the Fair Share amendment, but let's note that there are some things being done to make the revenue happen. The way we're getting the schools funded is in part funding from previous years; as reported by State House News Service in WBUR:

The budget would fully fund another year of the K-12 education funding law known as Student Opportunity Act in part by drawing down $300 million from an investment fund specially designed to cover the costs of the law. Beacon Hill built up that fund in past years when the state was more flush with cash, and the withdrawal would leave about $200 million for future use.

Healey's plan would also pull $265 million from a similar early education and care affordability fund, fully depleting its balance.

There are other places in the budget that this is also happening; those happen to be Chapter 70 and early ed. 
I want to be fair in noting that this is exactly why we have such a fund. The thing about one time funding, though, is that it's spent once and it's gone. I think we need to consider what happens next year or the year after that. 

The other big piece on the Chapter 70 aid, as I mentioned on Monday, is the inflation rate. It's 1.35% for all accounts save health insurance. I think it's possible--and I think I've been guilty of this myself--that in the implementation of the Student Opportunity Act, we may have lost sight a bit of the fundamental principle of the state school funding formula: it's driven by two things every year, which are enrollment and inflation. DESE reports: 

Statewide, foundation enrollment increased from 905,106 in FY2024 to 905,331 in FY2025, an increase of 225 students. Foundation enrollment decreased for 165 districts, while 148 districts experienced enrollment increases.

If you're in a district with falling enrollment and not a high rate of low income students (thus meaning you're not getting the driving push of the SOA increases in low income rates), a 1.35% inflation rate isn't going to be enough to push a significant increase. It's certainly made it harder for districts still in hold harmless to get back out, particularly on top of the $60 per pupil minimums last year. 

Even the Gateways--and yes, I'm including Worcester in this--aren't seeing the same increases we have in past years, when the inflation rate was being driven by the pandemic spending of previous quarters.  

And no one's budget is increasing by 1.35%. 

That's big picture. More to come. 

Here's the updated this week inflation history. 

Hey, did you see this great write-ups of Superintendent Monárrez talking about the Worcester Public Schools' Strategic Plan?

 They went up earlier this week: 

• Worcester Telegram & Gazette
• MassLive
• Worcester Guardian

You can find the district strategic plan on the website.