Boston City Council unanimously supports the Cherish Act
Boston City Council unanimously supports the Cherish Act
Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, Councilor Gabriela Coletta and Council President Ruthzee Louijeune presented a resolution at the Jan. 31 City Council meeting supporting the Cherish Act, which the City Council then voted unanimously to support.
Boston is the first city to approve a resolution supporting the Cherish Act, as part of a campaign by the Higher Ed for All coalition to move similar resolutions through cities across Massachusetts.
The Cherish Act would establish a blueprint for a world-class system of public higher education in Massachusetts. Its pillars include fully funded community colleges, state universities and UMass campuses; fair wages and working conditions for full-time and adjunct higher ed faculty and staff, adequate support for students of all backgrounds, and green and healthy buildings.
In her remarks supporting the resolution, Councilor Fernandes Anderson addressed the importance of college attainment.
“This is especially important in light of the fact that there remain systemic race and class inequities that our Black, brown, immigrant and working-class students must overcome,” Fernandes Anderson said. “Such inequities result in lower college enrollment and graduation rates, particularly for our Black and Latino students. Tens of thousands attend college but are unable to graduate due to economic hardship, family responsibilities, and more, while a whopping 700,000 people in the state have earned some credits but have not graduated from college. The state has additional funds now via the Fair Share Amendment that are already being used toward our public schools and transportation system and could also be used to assist our working-class students in receiving needed funds to pursue their education.”
Coletta said the Cherish Act will enable more people to benefit from public higher education.
“Obtaining a degree from a higher ed institution is increasingly becoming out of reach for many who do not qualify for financial aid, or there are those like me who have taken out thousands of dollars in student loans in hope of gaining the necessary skills to become a productive member of society,” Coletta said. “Passing the Cherish Act means properly investing in the Commonwealth’s most important engine of democracy, opportunity and economic prosperity.”
Louijeune said the Cherish Act will ensure that future generations have access to affordable, high-quality higher education.
“The Cherish Act would be a transformative approach to addressing challenges that would restore funding for public higher education to at least the 2001, adjusted-for-inflation, per-student levels,” Louijeune said. “This supports the findings of the 2014 Higher Education Finance Commission as a necessary step toward stabilizing and strengthening our education system. In essence, the Cherish Act is not only about funding, it’s about upholding our commitment to future generations, ensuring they have access to affordable, high-quality education. It’s a call to action for all of us to support the pillars of our public higher education system. Public education is a public good."
Urge your legislators to support the Cherish Act
The Cherish Act, filed by Senator Jo Comerford (D-Northampton), Representative Sean Garballey (D-Arlington) and Representative Pat Duffy (D-Holyoke), would establish a blueprint for a world-class system of public higher education that is urgently needed to meet widely shared goals in the Commonwealth.
Please email your legislators right away and urge them to heed the call of their constituents and prioritize the passage of the Cherish Act this legislative session.