Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 4/6/2023
HUNTINGTON — At the start of a meeting with state Rep. Nicholas Boldyga and state Sen. Paul Mark on March 28, the legislators asked school administrators, staff, students, alumni and School Committee members around the table to introduce themselves and talk about what they like best about the Gateway Regional School District.
Junior Joseph Pisani, student liaison to the School Committee, who also served on Mark’s fall campaign, was happy to begin.
“There is so much potential here. Every other day, I see when it’s been reached,” he said.
Senior and Student Council President Olivia Kanner said she loves the rural quality of the school: “I love that the school is small,” she said.
“I love our small community with big ideas,” said Martha Clark, director of student programs.
School Committee Huntington representative Pegg Dragon said she likes the special programs being offered to students, especially the welding program. She said she herself is a welder of jewelry and sculpture. Dragon emphasized the need for the state to support rural aid.
Chester representative Jeanna Briggs said she has four boys in the district who have benefited from its special education programs, and appreciated “the top-notch support services.”
Huntington representative Lisa Goding said she also has two children on individualized education plans, and said the school’s special education program is one of the best in the state. Goding said both rural aid and transportation reimbursement is critical.
Kurt Garivaltis, director of pupil services, said he loves his work with the leadership and principals.
“I’ve never experienced a staff and families so tenaciously committed to kids,” Garivaltis said.
He said before the coronavirus pandemic, Gateway matched the state average with 19% of its students on individualized education plans. He said since the pandemic started, Gateway has ballooned up to 25% due to the staggering regression students suffered from the pandemic and alternative learning models, such as remote and virtual learning.
Social studies teacher and union president James Duggan said he loves it because of the students and the staff.
“Once a Gator, always a Gator,” he said.
Boldyga, a Republican from Southwick, introduced himself as the state representative who had picked up seven new Hilltowns in last year’s redistricting. He said he understands the region’s concerns, as he is originally from the Berkshires, and is the first college graduate in his family.
“This is all of us against Boston, not all of you against the two of us,” he said, referring to himself and to Mark, a Democrat from Becket.
Mark said he is representing 57 cities and towns in Western Massachusetts, adding that if he set out to visit one a week, he would not get to them all in a year. He said after serving as one of 160 representatives, it is exciting for him to be one of 40 senators.
Mark said right now he is working on transportation, schools and Chapter 90 funding for roads. He said the previous day, March 26, in committee, he had voted to add $25 million to Chapter 90 for rural communities on top of the $150 million for targeted grants the House had added over the base funding of $200 million in the governor’s proposed budget.
Mark said the additional $25 million for roads would be based on population density: the lower the density, the more money towns would get. He said the amendment still needed to be voted in by the Senate, and then survive the reconciliation process that produces the compromise bill both houses endorse.
On April 1, Senate President Karen Spilka referred to the additional $25 million in a press release, saying it would be additional transportation support based on road mileage, which is particularly helpful for rural communities.
Mark also discussed rural school aid, which he said didn’t exist in 2017. He said the state went from zero to $7.5 million in the governor’s budget this year, following years of lobbying. He said a report showed $60 million is needed to be spent on rural communities to provide equity in education. He said even after working for years to fix the Chapter 70 formula, it still doesn’t benefit rural communities.
“You’ve done a great job of selling this to us, which is an easy sell,” Mark said, in response to a question on how residents and staff could help to promote rural aid.
“It only helps 20% of the population. We have to sell it to 80% of the state who won’t benefit,” Mark said, emphasizing that small towns have the same overhead and the same costs without the same reimbursement.
Boldyga noted this is not a unique issue for Gateway, but also impacts Southwick, Granville and Tolland, which form a regional school district.
“No one is happy with Chapter 70 funding,” Boldyga said.
Boldyga also encouraged residents to keep an eye on how the state spends revenues from the Millionaires’ Tax, the high-income surtax passed in a ballot question last November.
“We were told if we voted for it, it would go to roads and schools. It’s not actually earmarked in the law for roads and schools,” he said, adding that he agreed with Mark that the formulas for Chapter 70 and Chapter 90 do not benefit rural communities.
The legislators said that the argument in Boston is that eastern Massachusetts needs all of the transportation dollars because that’s where the people live. He pointed out that residents of Greater Boston have public transportation options, however.
“Out here, every individual needs a vehicle to get anywhere,” Boldyga said. “We are more reliant [on cars], and should get more Chapter 90. Every one of these formulas benefits population centers.”
Asked how the new position of director of rural development will help, the legislators said that person hasn’t been appointed yet.
According to the legislators, in the last 10 years, the state budget almost doubled from $30 billion to $55 billion.
“We have the money. We voted for the Millionaires’ Tax. Have that conversation with the new coordinator,” Boldyga said.
Mark said he has been inviting committee chairs from eastern Massachusetts out to his district, which is geographically the largest in the state. He said so far, he has invited the chairs of the Joint Committee on Transportation, Ways and Means, the Senate president and four other committee chairs out.
Mark said the chair of Ways and Means is himself from the smallest community in his district, the town of Westport in a district that includes Fall River and New Bedford, and rural aid also resonates with him.