After a circuitous history, a constitutional amendment that could dedicate as much as $2 billion annually to public education and transportation in Massachusetts will reach voters in November of 2022.
MTA members are taking action now to share information about the Fair Share Amendment — and to ask what fellow educators need across their school districts and college campuses.
They are working with Raise Up Massachusetts, a grassroots coalition that helped get the question on the ballot after a multi-year process.
The coalition includes the MTA and other unions as well as education, faith-based and community organizations. Raise Up Massachusetts initially focused on a petition-driven ballot initiative, but the effort was blocked by a legal challenge. Over the summer, the Legislature gave final approval to putting the amendment before voters on Nov. 8, 2022.
The Fair Share Amendment is a proposed change to the Massachusetts Constitution. Unlike the federal income tax, which is graduated, the Commonwealth has a flat income tax of 5 percent. The Fair Share Amendment would add 4 percentage points to the tax on annual income above $1 million.
Significant amounts of the funding generated by the amendment would be directed to public schools, colleges and universities, providing an opportunity to make progress on issues such as reducing class sizes in elementary grades and strengthening higher education programs and staffing.
Imagining what those changes would look like is not hard for educators who are volunteering on the campaign as it ramps up.
Deb Gesualdo, president of the Malden Education Association and a longtime music teacher, said the one-time federal funds that were directed to states as part of COVID-19 relief have allowed educators to see a different future for public education after many years of austerity budgets. But the Fair Share Amendment would secure funds for schools and colleges in an ongoing manner, said Gesualdo, who serves as an MTA Senate District Coordinator.
Until recently, Gesualdo was the only music teacher for nine grade levels of students in her K-8 school. She taught about 1,000 students each year. Some had access to music classes for half the year, if that. Only recently has the Malden system been able to bring on more educators.
"If the Fair Share Amendment passes, this would help not only sustain these positions we’re adding, but we could actually add more," Gesualdo said. "People are starting to visualize what this could look like because now they have a frame of reference."
Activists spreading awareness about the amendment will focus initially on member-tomember conversations through phone calls and visits — while remaining vigilant about COVID-19 safety. MTA members will collect pledge cards as part of this effort, but they’re not just going to be asking for political support. After 18 months of a pandemic, members will check in on other members and ask what they need the most.
An important part of the process is to speak with members, find out what their pandemic experiences were like, and learn how their needs can be met through the consistent funding that the Fair Share Amendment would provide, noted MTA President Merrie Najimy.
"Passing the Fair Share Amendment can provide the resources for schools that educators and students are so desperately in need of," Najimy said. "Winning the Student Opportunity Act began to address the needs of our communities — in particular in communities with low incomes or communities of color — but the needs go far beyond that."
Laurie Guiel-Ashe, a paraprofessional who works at the West Springfield Middle School, is a veteran of many summer campaigns for the MTA. She is ready to spread the word about the Fair Share Amendment and hopes that dedicated state funds will create more options for her students.
The state has many families who can’t afford college, she noted. And other students may not want to pursue a degree but should be assured of a high-quality education.
"I would love for all students to get equal shares of an education," she said. "There are so many kids out there who are brilliant with their hands. They can think on their feet."
Guiel-Ashe has seen the successes of grassroots campaigns in the past. She said she was ready to speak to other members as school reopened — "letting our administration, our towns, and our parents know that we are out there, working on behalf of our students."
Gesualdo also has seen the success of member-driven grassroots efforts in the past, including the "No on 2" campaign in 2016 to prevent the unfettered expansion of privately run charter schools across the state. If five MTA members talk to five other people about the Fair Share Amendment and ask them to do the same, the effort will grow organically, she said.
If five MTA members talk to five other people about the Fair Share Amendment and ask them to do the same, the effort will grow organically.
"We know historically that this kind of grassroots organization, this kind of relational organizing, works. We saw it with the ‘No on 2’ campaign. We saw it when we put a lot of pressure on the State House with the Student Opportunity Act. And we’ll see it with this."
For more information, visit raiseupma.org and watch for updates on massteacher.org.
REGIONAL RETIREMENT CONSULTATIONS AVAILABLE
The MTA provides individual retirement consultations to assist members. Proof of membership must be submitted when requesting retirement services. This schedule is in effect from September to June except at MTA’s Quincy headquarters, which is staffed during the summer and school vacations.
All consultations are held virtually and by appointment only during the hours listed.
WORCESTER — Edward Nelson: first Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., MTA Central Office, 12 East Worcester St., second floor, Worcester; call 774.239.7823 or email [email protected].
QUINCY — Harold Crowley, Peter Mili and Raymond Thompson: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., MTA, 2 Heritage Drive, 9th Floor, Quincy; 617.878.8240 or 800.392.6175, ext. 8240, or email [email protected].
CAPE COD — Lawrence Abbruzzi: second Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., MTA Southeast Office, 756 Orchard St., third floor, Raynham; call 508.824.9194 or email [email protected].
FITCHBURG — Karen Melanson: second Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Fitchburg Teachers Association office, 245 River St., Fitchburg; call 978.660.4359 or email [email protected].
HOLYOKE — Ron Lech: third Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., MTA Western Office, 55 Bobala Road, Suite 3, Holyoke; call 413.893.9173 or email [email protected].
LYNNFIELD — Barbara Callaghan: third and fourth Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., MTA Northeast Office, 50 Salem St., Building B, Lynnfield; call 978.660.4171 or email [email protected].
PITTSFIELD — Ward Johnson: second Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., MTA Berkshire Office, 188 East St., Pittsfield; call 413.443.1722 or email [email protected].
RAYNHAM — Raymond Thompson: third Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., MTA Southeast Office, 756 Orchard St., third floor, Raynham; call 617.347.4425 or email [email protected].
HIGHER EDUCATION AT-LARGE — Edward McCourt, call 781.325.2553 or email [email protected].
Note: If your association would like to schedule a retirement workshop at your school, your local president should call Harold Crowley at 800.392.6175, ext. 8240. Please be aware that the MTA consultants do not have records of your service, so members are advised to bring that information along to meetings.
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