Chapter 70

The Massachusetts Secretary of Education was in Northampton this week — doing a lot of listening as students and teachers talked school funding. They made their case for reform as costs continue to rise and state dollars come up short in the region’s more rural districts.

Throughout western Massachusetts, communities are grappling with big potential cuts to school district staffing. It’s prompting lawmakers and students to call for the state to step up – and revisit one of its funding formulas.