I proposed an amendment to the education reform bill that would have helped to resolve this problem by creating a funding formula that would more fairly reimburse school districts when students who live there attend charter schools. It would have helped to level the playing field between public school districts and charter schools, which I believe is an important priority for our cities and towns. The amendment also had the support of the Massachusetts Superintendents Association, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and Stand For Children.
I am disappointed that this amendment was not adopted as a way to improve upon the changes being made in the education reform package. Instead, the amendment was recommended for further study, as members refused to even discuss a way to ease the plight facing cities and towns. Unfortunately, last night, members preferred procedural tactics and politics to good policy.
The debate over the bill lasted late into the night, with a flurry of changes being made at the last minute, decisions happening behind closed doors, and numerous amendments being consolidated together into one. In the end, it was impossible to tell what was actually in the final legislation and because of this, I could not vote in favor of the bill.
Going forward, I will continue to try to find ways to improve our education system here in Massachusetts while holding cities and towns harmless for any changes.
TEXT OF THE AMENDMENT
AMENDMENT #49 Ms. Polito of Shrewsbury, Mr. Kaufman of Lexington, Ms. Garry of Dracut, Ms. Ehrlich of Marblehead, Ms. Benson of Lunenberg, Mr. Guyer of Dalton, Ms. Peake of Provincetown, Mr. DiNatale of Fitchburg, Ms. Callahan of Sutton, Ms. Provost of Somerville, Mr. Stanley of Waltham, and Mr. Miceli of Wilmington move that House Bill 4410 be amended by striking lines 909 to 915 of subsection gg of Section 2 and adding in the following new section:-
(gg). In a year during which a sending district‘s total district-sponsored charter school tuition amount is greater than the sending district‘s total district-sponsored charter tuition amount for the previous year, the sending district shall be reimbursed by the Commonwealth in accordance with this paragraph and subject to appropriation; provided, however, that no funds for the reimbursements shall be deducted from funds distributed under Chapter 70. The reimbursement amount shall be equal to 100 per cent of the increase in the year in which the increase occurs, 60 per cent in the second year, 40 per cent in the third year, and 35 per cent in the fourth, fifth, and sixth years following.
