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Brookline subcommittee finalizes Feb. 9 legislative priorities, pushes for more state funding and METCO flexibility
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Summary
At its Jan. 12 meeting the Brookline School Committee Government Relations Subcommittee approved minutes and agreed on a priorities memo for a Feb. 9 legislators’ meeting, urging stronger state support for Chapter 70, special education reimbursements and increased flexibility for METCO funds while flagging a local cell-phone policy as an option.
The Brookline School Committee Government Relations Subcommittee met Jan. 12 and approved minutes from Dec. 15, 2025 before finalizing a priorities memo to present to state legislators at a Feb. 9 meeting scheduled for 4–5:30 p.m. in the School Committee Room. Suzanne, the subcommittee chair, led the review and set tasks for staff and members to confirm bill numbers and funding amounts.
The memo will front-load fiscal concerns, committee members said, and request increased state support for the district’s core funding needs. "We need increased funding for special ed, increased funding chapter 70, increased funding for METCO," Bob said, urging language that frames Brookline's needs in the context of a statewide fiscal strain. He said he would draft an overarching preface to make that point more prominent in the memo.
The subcommittee discussed a range of specific items to include: asking the state to restore circuit-breaker special-education reimbursements to 90% (described in the draft as aspirational), pressing for full funding under Chapter 70, and seeking greater district-level flexibility in allocating METCO grant dollars. "We advocate for increased flexibility for district level decision making to allocate the METCO grant," Carolyn said, and the group agreed to add that language to the memo.
Members also debated whether to single out Senator Cynthia Cream for a brief thank-you for sponsoring recent education-related bills (data privacy measures, proposals on cell phones in schools and protections for libraries). Betsy, who will assemble the final version, said she will confirm bill numbers and any specific dollar amounts with staff before distributing the draft to the subgroup.
On the cell-phone issue, the group discussed recent state activity and whether the district should wait for state action. Bob said Rep. Tommy Vitolo told him "don't wait for us," and members noted that local policy action is an option the committee could pursue while also citing state proposals in the memo. Betsy agreed to check and tighten the bill citations before the document is shared with legislators.
Early-childhood support made the list: the subcommittee agreed to include backing for high-quality pre-kindergarten grant legislation (Senate bill S339 and House bill 687 were discussed as the cited measures) and to emphasize attainable steps such as targeted free pre-K for 4-year-olds. Members spoke in favor of listing a small number of priorities so the legislators’ meeting can focus on core asks.
Procedural items and next steps were set before adjournment: Betsy will circulate a tightened draft to the subgroup for review, Bob will prepare the budget-focused preface, and Carolyn will help confirm specific program numbers with staff (Susan and Karen Schmucko were cited as contacts). The group will present the memo to the full school committee prior to the Feb. 9 legislator meeting, and the subcommittee adjourned after approving the items.
Formal actions recorded during the Jan. 12 meeting were the committee's approval of the Dec. 15, 2025 minutes and a motion to adjourn; both were seconded and adopted by roll-call votes of the three members present.
The subcommittee’s next substantive step is to finalize the memo and send it to legislators and their staff in advance of the Feb. 9 meeting so legislators can prepare responses and brief remarks.
