Lead Sponsors: Rep. Orlando Ramos (D-Springfield) | Sen. Robyn Kennedy (D-Worcester)
My name is Keith Michon, and I serve as president of the Fall River Educators Association and as a representative on the MTA Board of Directors.
I’m here today to urge the Legislature to support H.678 and S.338, “An Act to fix the Chapter 70 inflation adjustment.” These bills address a critical flaw in the Chapter 70 law—one that is preventing public school districts like mine from keeping pace with inflation.
The Student Opportunity Act (SOA) significantly improved the Chapter 70 formula, and the results in Fall River have been transformative. Thanks to SOA, we’ve been able to invest in supports our students have long needed:
- We’ve dramatically increased social-emotional learning services.
- Expanded special education staffing and programming,
- Support and programming for English Language Learners.
- Grown our early college opportunities for high school students.
- And much more.
Let me be clear—these are not luxuries or “nice-to-haves.” These are essential services that address the real needs of the children in our community.
SOA was passed in recognition of the fact that communities like Fall River were not fully funding education. I celebrate that achievement. But we must now acknowledge a serious shortcoming: the inflation adjustment glitch. Without fixing this, we risk undoing much of the progress we’ve made.
In Fall River, we estimate that the inflation glitch has led to a $6–10 million gap in our local budget compared to what it should have been. The effects are immediate and deeply concerning:
- Class sizes are creeping back up.
- Special education caseloads are rising, putting compliance and student support at risk
- Positions like library media specialists are being eliminate.
- And our Educational Support Professionals still aren’t earning a living wage.
This is not sustainable. We cannot meet our students’ needs if we fall behind on funding.
I urge you to support H.678 and S.338 to fix the Chapter 70 inflation adjustment. Our students, our educators, and our communities are depending on it.
Thank you for your time and your continued commitment to public education.
