WREA president urges state funding fix at Wachusett Regional public hearing

Linda Sasso, president of the Wachusett Regional Education Association, spoke during the meeting’s public hearing to press for changes to the state school funding formula and to report on collaborative advocacy with district leaders.

Sasso said she and WREA vice president Alicia Jusakowitz attended a House Ways and Means committee meeting with Superintendent Dr. Riley, business director Michelle Grise and several school committee members. “We all agree that the state funding formula is broken and that students are paying the price,” Sasso said. She asked the broader community to support grassroots advocacy for a new funding formula.

Nut graf: Sasso framed teacher and district participation at the Ways and Means hearing as a joint effort and urged continued advocacy to offset funding shortfalls that she said are affecting classroom resources.

Sasso told the committee the district must design a “lean budget,” said taxpayers may need to increase their contributions, and noted that educators often supplement classroom materials out of pocket. “The WRSD must design a lean budget. Taxpayers must increase their contributions and educators must supplement their classrooms with their own money,” she said. Sasso also thanked district representatives for attending the Ways and Means hearing and said the WREA “was proud to stand alongside district leadership to advocate for our students.”

Superintendent Dr. Riley later echoed appreciation for the coalition that attended the hearing and thanked Representative Megan Kilcoyne for specifically mentioning the district and its hold-harmless funding during the hearing.

Ending: Sasso concluded by urging stakeholders to join continued advocacy efforts at the state level; the committee heard her remarks as a public comment and took no formal action at this meeting on funding formula changes.