Education spending reflects MTA advocacy

MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy released the following statement on the Legislature’s state budget proposal:

The state budget that emerged last night from the State House includes many significant investments in public education, a tremendous benefit for the students and families of Massachusetts and a testament to the significance of the Fair Share Amendment and educators’ advocacy for more equitable state funding for public schools.

Thanks to the Fair Share Amendment that raises money for public education and transportation through a surtax on the wealthiest people in the state — those with annual incomes above $1 million — every Massachusetts resident can attend community college knowing that their tuition and mandatory fees are covered. Working class students will get additional funds that will help them afford some of the additional costs of attending college.

Furthermore, the Legislature committed funds to wraparound support services that will enhance students’ ability to succeed once enrolled in college. We hope and expect that this is a historic, initial step toward the racial and economic justice goal of having debt-free, high-quality, public higher education. That will require — as we hope will happen in the coming legislative session — an investment in our staff and faculty, and in the buildings where they work and students learn.

Fair Share also allows the state to continue funding both cost-free school meals for all students and higher levels of financial aid for students attending public, four-year universities

MTA members advocated for higher levels of per-pupil spending in the state budget, which will help every district, especially those struggling to adequately fund their schools. The tripling of so-called “minimum aid” was a helpful salve for the wounds of local school budget cuts. Fixing the flawed inflation calculation in the Chapter 70 education funding formula is a critical project for the coming year.

The state budget proposal includes funding for such MTA priorities as the Tomorrow’s Teachers scholarship program, student loan forgiveness for educators, development of a statewide framework for mental health services, increased funding for rural schools, funds for the governor’s Literacy Launch program to advance literacy among our students, and grants to support clean-energy infrastructure projects at public schools. In addition, after years of advocacy from retired public employees, who generally do not benefit from Social Security and rely on their well-earned state pensions, the budget includes a commission to study possible increases in the base on which the annual state and teacher pension COLA is calculated, so that these public employees can live a dignified retirement.

MTA members played an integral role in establishing the priorities and securing the funding displayed in this budget.

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