North Adams School Committee Joins Call for More State Funding
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The School Committee on Tuesday endorsed a resolution calling for greater state education funding but delayed another addressing charter schools.
The brief resolutions were introduced by committee member John Hockridge, who also sits on the Berkshire County Education Task Force. Hockridge said both resolutions are being presented to school committees across the state.
The School Committee fairly quickly signed off on the resolution urging the Legislature and governor to adopt the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission.
The commission recently found that the state's foundation budget formula — meant to ensure adequate funding — is understating the costs of educating students by more than a half-billion a year.
"The foundation budget was adopted in 1993 and has not changed since then," Hockridge told the committee. "Two of the biggest items are out-of-district special education costs and health insurance."
Foundation budget figures are not keeping pace with actual costs, the commission found, with health insurance running 140 percent higher and out of district spending at 59 percent more.
"We're trying to get the funding for those up to reality," Hockridge said. The resolution "may not have any impact but it can't hurt."
Vice Chairwoman Heather Boulger suggested a letter attached to the resolution spelling out in more detail how the city's schools are affected by the current foundation budget.
"We should add in the data on how this affects us locally," she said. "I just think it would have greater impact."
Superintendent James Montepare said he and Hockridge had spoken to state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, D-North Adams, on the issue. "I think we were very vocal about it," he said.
Hockridge said the resolutions would be sent to the Berkshire delegation, chairs of the education and Ways & Means committees, the governor and other officials.
A letter could be added in, he said, although he would like to get the resolution out by the end of the month.
"We're hoping the Berkshire County ones can go together," he said.
It was determined that Boulger would write a letter to be included with the resolution. But she asked that the second resolution on charter schools be tabled until she had more information.
The resolution asks that the Legislature not lift the current cap on charter schools.
It notes issues with the existing 83 charter schools as outlined by a review by Auditor Suzanne Bump released in 2014. It points to a general loss of enrollment from entrance to final academic year, failure to provide documented innovative education techniques for public schools to follow, inconsistent renewal conditions and the state's failure to fund local pubic districts.
Boulger said she was uncomfortable on making a decision on Tuesday, and asked what the effect locally would be.
Hockridge responded that charter schools are targeted to low performing areas, which would mean another charter school could be placed in the Berkshires.
"I whittled it down a little bit to just identify things I think are factual rather than opinions," he said of the resolution. "It's not in anyway addressing what is going on in Berkshire County currently other than to ask to not have anymore."
Mayor Richard Alcombright made it clear he was supportive of alternative education — and North County's two examples in McCann Technical School and Berkshire Arts & Technology Public Charter School.
"I have no angst about alternative education," he said. "But I think talking to other mayors around the state, the funding formula [for charter schools] is wrong and nobody seems to want to do anything about it."
The mayor said his main concern was that charter schools do not have elected school committees, which did not allow more transparent input on budgeting or review by public finance committees.
School Committee member Nicholas Fahey suggested that a line be added stating that the School Committee was not opposed to charter schools, but rather to the funding formula.
A ballot measure before voters in November would allow 12 new charter schools a year; the state Senate last week unveiled a bill that would raise the cap but also fully fund foundation budgets.
The committee voted to table the resolution until next month. The mayor asked that anyone with suggested language changes send them to Hockridge.
Tags: charter school, education fund, resolution,
