The Boston Globe, in its “The Argument” column in Globe Local, posed a question about abolishing school committees. Responding against the idea was Newton School Committee Chair Ruth Goldman. Read what Ruth and former mayor of Methuen Dennis A. DiZoglio (arguing in favor) had to say.
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Education should be funded, administered, and overseen exclusively at the state (if not federal) level. Local funding and administration of school systems is the single most regressive policy of this state, and it’s the primary reason that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. A resident of Mattapan should have access to the exact same resources and qualified educators as a resident of Weston.
School committees are not responsible for funding school systems or the hiring of staff, with the exception of the superintendent (per the Education Reform Act of 1993).
Anyone concerned about the current level of educational funding to local communities should contact their state legislators and let them know. During the last legislative session, we came close to updating the antiquated and inadequate funding formula that was established in 1993, but were unable to cross the finish line. Getting that bill passed into law during this session will be the main focus of attention of groups that support public education.
Micheal – I agree – but we lived in California where school funding was taken over by the state and all that happened was rich communities found ways to work around it.
And public support for the CA public schools dropped, for the same reason that the PTOs in Newton don’t share the money they fundraise.
Lucia,
You know the sickest thing about California Property taxes:
A house can be passed down to your children and they get to continue to pay the low capped property tax… From the most liberal state in the country
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-california-property-taxes-elites-201808-htmlstory.html
Literally, your neighbor in a 5M house could be paying just a few thousand in property taxes to fund schools, while you are paying $15k-$20k on a house worth 5x less. Is the state just full of limousine liberals?
I finally got around to reading the two columns that are the basis of this thread. The Mayor of Methuen describes how a dysfunctional school committee and municipality operate. However, the problems he highlights aren’t structural in nature.
Ruth’s column, on the other hand, describes how a school committee functions as one arm of a municipal government that includes a mayor and city council. It’s a clear, concise explanation of the roles and responsibilities of the school committee and the mayor and points out that the city council, with its current workload, would not be able to provide the adequate attention to the schools. I encourage readers to click on the link that Gail provided above (“The Argument” and read Ruth’s column.