Governor Charlie Baker
HYANNIS – Teachers unions and labor leaders have voiced disappointment with Governor Charlie Baker’s proposed levels of funding for education through bills such as the Student Opportunity Act.
The Act, passed in 2019 to allocate more funding over seven years to school systems with many low-income students and English-language learners, was delayed by a year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Educators such as high school English teacher for Lawrence Public Schools, Dondra Longo, said that the state should fully fund the first two years in fiscal year 2022 and that there’s no time to catch up.
She also said that over a year of nontraditional, online learning has created more challenges for students that will need extra support.
“We’re going to have to personalize the education because everyone’s been through the same trauma, but they’ve been through it in a different way. So I feel like the resources to do that, they’re absolutely essential,” said Longo.
Groups such as the American Federation of Teachers are looking for the passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to bring federal money to Massachusetts that could help fully fund the Student Opportunity Act.
About Grady Culhane
