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Students, educators warn Ways and Means: chapter 70 and local aid shortfalls forcing staff, program cuts
Summary
Dozens of students, teachers and municipal leaders told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means that the state's school funding formulas leave many districts unable to maintain staff and programs. Speakers pressed for fixes to chapter 70, full reimbursement for transportation and a higher minimum per-pupil grant.
Hundreds of students, educators and local officials told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means on April 1 that Massachusetts' current K'12 funding formulas are driving cuts across the Commonwealth and risking class-size increases, program eliminations and, in some districts, further layoffs.
"Electives are a cornerstone of opportunity at every school," said Yatharath Rajakumar, a 16-year-old student who testified for Amherst Regional High School students. "Cutting electives may seem right, but each class allows students to express creativity and have fun."
Parents, students and superintendents from Western and Central Massachusetts described similar scenes: districts that passed recent overrides but still face multi-million-dollar deficits; regional districts that say they are held harmless by the state formula yet still cannot meet level…
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