The week between Christmas and New Year’s is usually fairly quiet on Beacon Hill.
But this year, this typical vacation week will be punctuated with lots of work to advance a bill that represents our state’s first major attempt at education reform in two decades.
The flurry of activity surrounding this bill is appropriate, albeit overdue. There is a lot at stake with this legislation, particularly with regard to charter schools in Massachusetts.
This past summer, President Obama announced a $4.35 billion competitive grant program for states to improve under-performing schools. Applications for state grants to access these so-called “Race to the Top” funds are due by January 19, 2010. According to Governor Patrick, Massachusetts could be eligible to receive up to $250 million in grants under the program, but access to the funds would require our state to lift its cap on new charter school creation over the next few weeks, before grant applications are submitted.
The education reform bill would remove this cap. It also would change the funding formula that is used to reimburse cities and towns for the money they pay to fund charter schools based on the number of students they send there. Right now, cities and towns receive reimbursement for students over three years on a declining balance basis, with 100 percent reimbursement in the first year, 60 percent in the second year and 40 percent in the third year (for 200 percent total). A new funding proposal would send reimbursement directly to charter schools, and it would increase reimbursement to 225 percent total. However, it would stretch the reimbursement term out to six years, with 100 percent reimbursement in the first year and only 25 percent in following years. Many school districts are concerned that this funding formula could impact their local budgets substantially.
As of now, the education reform bill is scheduled to be debated and passed by the House on January 6, 2010, right after the beginning of formal sessions for the new year. I support lifting the cap on charter schools, and I hope the Legislature passes this bill quickly. However, I hope the funding formula will be fixed so that we can be sure the effects of education reform will be fair to suburban school districts, and so that their budgets will not suffer even greater strain as a result of our reform efforts. Now is the time for suburban districts to level the playing field.
What do you think about this education reform plan? Is it a good idea, or is it too much too soon? Please post a comment below.
