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Date: 10/23/2019
CHICOPEE – The Student Opportunity Act, currently awaiting approval from the Massachusetts House, was the main topic of discussion at the school committee meeting in Chicopee on Oct. 17.
The topic was first broached during the open public input portion of the meeting by President of the Chicopee Education Association, Lauren Demakis. During public input, Demakis spoke on the bill, the changes the House want to make before passing the bill, and asked committee members to sign a resolution asking the house to pass the bill with the amendments made by the Senate.
The act, which was passed by the Massachusetts Senate in early October, would add $1.5 billion to educational funding within the state. When the Senate unanimously passed the act, included were about a dozen amendments which had been adopted.
Damakis said one of the most significant changes that the House wants to make is in regards to accountability.
“I hear they’re supporting the funding, that it shouldn’t be much debate that way, but there’s going to be debate on the accountability aspect being in the district’s hands, they still want it in the commissioner’s hands,” she said.
She then went on to present a resolution to the committee, and asked their support in signing it. The resolution, once signed, would be presented to the House and would encourage legislative members to consider passing the Student Opportunity Act with all the amendments that had been added by the Senate.
Damakis continued, “I’ve put before you a resolution that I would request that you review and sign that asks the House to approve the Student Opportunity Act as approved by the Senate with all the amendments, especially in regards to accountability staying in the hands of the district as opposed to in the hands of the commissioner.”
The district, she said, has previously seen “the detrimental effects when those decisions of accountability are taken out of the hands of those who know their students and staff and community best.”
At the end of the meeting Mayor Richard Kos put a motion on the table to allow for committee members to endorse and sign the resolution. Members unanimously agreed to support and sign the resolution.
Mary Beth Costello echoed Damakis’ statements about accountability and how important it was to keep it local. “Nothing is as good as local and all politics is local, and we would know better how to implement any type of financial or policy aspect of what this law could mean,” she said.
“So I think we should, as a committee, endorse this. It makes sense and I like the idea of we’re emphasizing we keep accountability in the local school districts statewide.”
Committee member, Michael Pise, also echoed his support of the resolution, but also remarked on his disappointment with the state educational authority and legislators and his concern that this was not an adequate long-term solution for educational funding within the state.
“I support this, obviously. I think we need the funding, we need to get the monies in, I just am still disappointed with our legislature and state educational authority. We won’t get full funding until 2027, and we’re going to be in the same position we were in again.” He continued, “They refuse to constantly update and look at the formula to make sure it’s fair. They put one formula in there that’s going to last seven or eight years, it’s going to be out of balance and we’re going to be in the same place again.”
Pise said, “So while this is a step in the right direction, it’s still not the best solution that I think we could have come up with. I know I think we need affordability and the state has issues with the budget and issues with funding education to the level it should be funded at. So I do support this, I do think we’re moving forward in the right direction, but it still is not adequate, I think, to adequately fund education.”
Committee member, James Tanhauser, echoed this stating, “I hope the state legislators realize that this opportunity act is a beginning to a solution not the endgame. There’s a long way to go in this marathon that’s getting our schools funded more properly.”
The committee voted unanimously to pass Kos’ motion to both support and sign the resolution, which will be taken to the House. Upon approving the motion, Chicopee, according to Demakis, became “one of the first, if not the first to pass the resolution.”