The fact that the Worcester Public Schools will be able to hire more teachers and school nurses for the next school year is a textbook example of how the squeaky wheel gets the oil at City Hall. 

Make no mistake about it, had it not been for the concerted efforts of the Citywide Parent Planning Advisory Council, concerned parents of school-age children and members of the School Committee, it is very unlikely that the School Department would have an extra nickle for next year. 

As part of his fiscal 2013 budget proposal, City Manager Michael V. O’Brien had recommended $284.5 million for the public schools, which was $11.4 million more than the current year’s school budget. Funding for public education was increasing by 4.6 percent, while non-school spending was increasing by a mere 1.2 percent. 

Given that, many city councilors did not seem terribly bothered by the proposed funding for education. 

But public school advocates were anything but satisfied; they actively lobbied the City Council for more money