Educators to speak on fiscal crises at budget hearing

The fiscal crisis undermining public schools, the fight for fair pay and benefits for all workers powering the public education system, and access to a plan that will allow veteran educators to retire with dignity are among the top issues the Massachusetts Teachers Association will air at a public hearing Tuesday at the State House.

More than 100 MTA educators from public schools and colleges, plus other allies and students, will be lobbying lawmakers for the funding public education needs. More than two dozen educators are scheduled to testify at the Joint Committee on Ways and Means hearing, beginning at noon on Tuesday.

The fiscal crisis sweeping across the Commonwealth is affecting school districts in significant ways as cities and towns make deep and troubling cuts to public education. Many communities are planning educator layoffs. Student fees and transportation costs are rising. School libraries are closing, and many schools do not have the resources or staff to adequately support student well-being.

“With more than 1,300 students, the high school has only one music teacher, no district-wide music director, and no one on staff with chorus training.” –Lisa Boragine, Cape Cod Community College and parent of a Bridgewater-Raynham student 

Lisa Boragine teaches at Cape Cod Community College and is the parent of a student in the Bridgewater-Raynham public schools, giving her two different views of the effects of underfunding for public education.

In addition to seeing her daughter in classes with more than 30 students, Boragine said she is concerned about cuts to arts programs at the high school.

“My daughter is interested in pursuing the performing arts as a career after college, and our district offerings in these areas at the high school are weak,” she said, in submitted testimony. “With more than 1,300 students, the high school has only one music teacher, no district-wide music director, and no one on staff with chorus training. The jazz band class was canceled last year due to budget cuts, and the once vibrant chorus program has almost disappeared.”

Boragine also is pushing for legislators to address low pay for faculty and staff at community colleges. Enrollment soared once community colleges become tuition free, yet her college is plagued with job vacancies because salaries are not in line with the state’s high cost of living, she noted.

Adjunct faculty working at public colleges and universities are continuing to fight for access to health and retirement benefits, as well as pay equity with their full-time counterparts.

“We worry about having less food to put on the table and about being able to pay for our medications if we need them.” –Robbin Miller, adjunct instructor at Quinsigamond Community College

Robbin Miller, an adjunct instructor at Quinsigamond Community College, said in her role, she is paying high premiums for health insurance and lacks a suitable retirement plan, even though her work supports the state’s new initiative to make public higher education more accessible.

“Many of us are forced to pay for expensive insurance plans, and we risk not being able to pay other bills,” Miller said in her testimony. “We worry about having less food to put on the table and about being able to pay for our medications if we need them.”

PreK-12 public school educators have been urging legislators to reopen enrollment for the RetirementPlus program to those who missed the initial rollout in 2001. The affected educators are asking to pay into the enhanced retirement plan that they said was confusingly rolled out and administered.

“Having the option to enroll in RetirementPlus would give me the flexibility to make thoughtful decisions about my future, whether that means retiring in the next five years or continuing to work longer.” –Julie Hoban Morrison, Dedham kindergarten teacher

“When RetirementPlus was first introduced, I did not enroll, not out of neglect or lack of interest, but because of several circumstances that made it difficult to receive clear and timely information,” said Julie Hoban Morrison, a Dedham kindergarten teacher, in testimony given to legislators. “Having the option to enroll in RetirementPlus would give me the flexibility to make thoughtful decisions about my future, whether that means retiring in the next five years or continuing to work longer. After 26 years of service, I am simply asking for the opportunity to choose. I believe the small number of educators affected by this situation deserves that second chance. It is a matter of fairness, dignity, and the very values we work every day to instill in our students.”