BOSTON (AP) — Advocates are expected to pack a Statehouse auditorium as a legislative committee weighs proposals to overhaul the way the state provides funding for public schools.
The debate over education spending has been dragging on, unresolved, since 2015 when a special commission determined school districts were being underfunded by as much as $2 billion. The report found that low-income and immigrant students were bearing the brunt of the shortfall.
The Education Committee will hear Friday from lawmakers, mayors, educators, parents, students and even several New England Patriots players.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has filed a bill he says addresses concerns with a 25-year-old education formula while providing an additional $1.1 billion over seven years. But many activists say Baker’s plan doesn’t go far enough and support competing legislation offered by several Democratic lawmakers.