Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page issued the following statement in response to the FY 2027 state budget enacted by the House and Senate:
In the Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposed by the Legislature’s Conference Committee and enacted by the House and Senate, advocacy by members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association contributed to important investments in public education, which will benefit students across the state.
The increase in minimum, per-student aid, increases to the special education circuit breaker, more money for rural schools, a fund to offset enrollment declines among English Language Learners, more money for public higher education collective bargaining agreements and more support for public higher education scholarship programs are all in some way linked to the work of MTA members who wrote, called and visited legislators during the budget cycle.
More than $3 billion derived every year from the Fair Share Amendment, which MTA members helped pass, has enabled a greater investment in public education. MTA members also spearheaded passage of the Student Opportunity Act, which for the first time in decades forced the state to address the true cost of providing our students with a world-class education.
Given this, we are shocked that the Legislature chose to remove the MTA from the Foundation Budget Review Commission convened under the proposed budget. The MTA is the largest union in the state and represents most public school educators. Instead of this constituency, the committee chose a representative for a conservative business group.
The review commission seeks to create a realistic accounting of what it costs to educate students in Massachusetts, and from there, determine state and local funding targets. The previous FBRC paved the way for the Student Opportunity Act, passed in 2019. Its inclusion in the budget is a victory that belongs to students, educators, parents and other pro-public education activists who have demanded bold state action to support our public schools.
It is ludicrous to think that a serious discussion about education funding can occur without input from the organization that represents about 75 percent of educators in Massachusetts public schools. If anything, the Foundation Budget Review Commission should have more educator members.
It is ludicrous to think that a serious discussion about education funding can occur without input from the organization that represents about 75 percent of educators in Massachusetts public schools. If anything, the Foundation Budget Review Commission should have more educator members.
The MTA and Beacon Hill share a goal of providing students and families with the best public schools in the country. We may differ at times about how to best achieve that goal, but debate and deliberation are fundamental to democracy. To exclude MTA members from the work of the Foundation Budget Review Committee calls into question the Legislature’s sincerity about truly wanting to understand what it costs to educate Massachusetts children.
Whether at FBRC hearings and meetings, or in the communities where we work, live and vote and where real change begins, MTA members will continue to speak out and organize to win the funding and opportunities that all of our students need and deserve.
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