Grassroots Organizing Just Won $1.5 Billion for Public Schools
Yesterday the landmark Student Opportunity Act was signed into law in Massachusetts, guaranteeing an additional $1.5 billion in funding for k-12 public schools across the Commonwealth:
Four years after a state commission determined the existing foundation budget formula underestimates the cost of education by $1 billion annually and more than a year after a previous bill to correct inequalities collapsed, the focus now shifts to implementing the funding law and holding districts accountable for improvement plans.
The new money is intended to reduce disparities between districts across the state and to put communities with larger cost drivers — special education, employee health care, and high numbers of low-income students and English language learners — on a more even footing with their peers.
While the finish line for this bill may have been Boston and Beacon Hill, the route that got us here went through cities, neighborhoods, and schools all across Massachusetts. This kind of dramatic shift in funding priorities only comes about when grassroots pressure builds from the bottom-up and makes a change inevitable: when the people lead, politicians must eventually listen. Incredible, tireless work was done by a constellation of education justice groups including those that Schott supports, such as MassBudget's independent budget and policy analysis, which played an important role in the education funding increase. Partners like Youth on Board, Massachusetts Community Action Network, Worcester Interfaith, and Massachusetts Jobs With Justice, as well as leading-edge community and labor coalitions like Boston Education Justice Alliance (BEJA) and Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance (MEJA) helped to center the voices of communities of color: students and parents brought a framework of racial justice to the public debate that won funding for English language learners and low-income students.
But it's important to highlight that the roots of this victory go much deeper. Systemic change is not a one-time victory but a commitment realized over the course of time. Since Schott’s founding in 1993, we have fostered and resourced cross-sector CONTINUE READING: Grassroots Organizing Just Won $1.5 Billion for Public Schools | Schott Foundation for Public Education
Here's Why You Should Give to the Grassroots on #GivingTuesday | Schott Foundation for Public Education - http://schottfoundation.org/node/4203
