The largest teachers’ union in Massachusetts has brought dozens of its members to the State House in Boston today to testify about what they describe as a fiscal crisis in the commonwealth’s schools. Funding and programming cuts, packed classrooms, and dire financial straits are some of the issues more than a hundred Massachusetts Teachers Association educators were discussing with legislators.
Amy Foley is an English and special education teacher in the Western Massachusetts community of South Hadley. Ahead of her testimony, the 30-year educator explained to WAMC why teachers are sounding the alarm, and what’s at stake for Massachusetts if public education isn’t properly funded.
FOLEY: What it looks like here at South Hadley High -- especially, the cuts that they're projecting for next year -- is less support for students. And as an educator, that is our number one priority, is to support students, not only in their educational needs, but their social emotional needs. And so, what we're looking at is larger class sizes where students will get less individual attention, which makes it more challenging for teachers to be able to identify when students are struggling, whether that's academically or socially and emotionally. At our elementary school, a couple years ago, they cut support staff. Every kindergarten class had a paraprofessional in that classroom to support staff, and so, what the cuts look like there -- and this happened two years ago -- was those paraprofessionals that were dedicated to kindergarten classes were removed. And the only way kindergarten class had support staff, whether that was a paraprofessional or an ETA, was if there was a student in that class with an IEP that needed one-to-one support. And so, you think about kindergarteners who are learning how to tie their shoes, they may need help going in and out of the bathroom- When you have a classroom of 20 plus students and one teacher who has to manage all of that, it's the kids who lose out in the end. So those are just some of the ways we're seeing the cuts taking effect here in South Hadley.
WAMC: It strikes me that there's this cumulative impact that doesn't even get felt just from the swelling class sizes, but the long-term ramifications for what these conditions mean for students. Can you speak to that? For these young people in the years to come, what is the ripple effect from the cuts that happen now?
The cuts that are projected for next year- South Hadley, as you know, is on April 14, is going to vote on whether or not to pass an override of Proposition 2½. There are two questions on the ballot, for an $11 million override and a $9 million override. If that override does not pass, there are going to be five administrative positions cut, there are going to be 17 student facing positions cut, all extracurricular activities are going to be cut, and sports are going to be cut. My fear is, in the past, when I first started working here in South Hadley, South Hadley was a place that families wanted their students to go to school. And in recent years -- and this is, I believe, another impact of the cuts that we have had to endure over the last couple of years -- we are now considered a choice negative school. And I believe right now, there's something like almost $3 million leaving the district of South Hadley, going to students who are choicing out of the district. If the cuts that they are proposing in the deficit budget take place, I don't see South Hadley ever becoming choice positive again. If anything, that $3 million is going to go up, and I just don't see how South Hadley is going to recover from that. We are looking at class sizes here at the high school of 30 to 35 or more. Next year, we're looking at the elimination of AP classes. There is not only going to be an impact on the schools here in South Hadley with students choiceing out because we're no longer going to be able to offer such valuable programs that create a well-rounded student, but families are not going to want to move to South Hadley because of the quality of the schools is just not going to be what I have, as a lifelong resident, what I've been proud of in the past. That's just not going to be here, and I'm really, really concerned about that.
Now the cuts are also going to impact people like you, who have spent decades working in public service, working for young people. It's not like it's particularly glamorous to be a public school teacher to begin with, but can you speak a little bit to what you're facing with the funding situation, as it looks right now?
Yeah, definitely. You know, our main focus is our students, and I've talked a lot about how the cuts are going to affect the quality of education for our students and families and the town in general. But as the President of South Hadley Education Association for the last five, four or five years or so, whenever we've gone into negotiations, it's been such a battle. We have been working without a contract since July 1 or August 1. We've been in negotiations, and negotiations have been paused since the override has come up because we're really focusing our efforts there. But just to give you an idea of what teachers in South Hadley have faced over the last year, we've seen our health insurance costs rise, now, it'll be a total of 52% going into next year, but this year it was 40%. So that means if you were an educator that was on the family insurance plan, your costs went up $5,000 in South Hadley. And right now, the offer that has been on the table is zero, a zero cost of living increase. So, teachers in South Hadley are taking a pay cut, and we're losing- I can tell you right now I know of people who are leaving the district this year. We have excellent educators here who are leaving because South Hadley is no longer competitive when it comes to pay. We are seeing other districts giving 3% COLA raises over three years, and South Hadley just can't stay competitive with that. And on some level, as the teachers union, I would be battling the town in the past, but I can't, because when I look at the numbers, the money is not there. Last April, the town of South Hadley put in place a budget task force that looked into the finances and the budget of the town. One of the things that they discovered and shared in their report in January is, over the last 15 years in South Hadley, state funding has dropped 7%. So, I believe it was about 15 years ago, 32% of the of South Hadley's budget was made up of state funding. That's now 25%. I really feel that if the state had continued to fund us at the same percentage, we would not be in the state we are right now and looking at the deficit budget that we're looking at. And it's not just here in South Hadley.
Lastly, Amy, if you had one message, one clear takeaway that you want elected officials Massachusetts to hear from you and your fellow union teachers, what would that be?
Public education is under attack right now, and South Hadley is an excellent example of that, because if the 2½ override does not pass, I really see the public schools in South Hadley struggling to survive over the next five years, and our state legislators need to hear that, because if the state funding had stayed consistent over the last 15 years, we may not be in this position right now.
Amy, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
No problem. Thank you for reaching out.
