Letter to the Editor: Barry Greenfield

In May 2009, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government performed an in-depth study of . Authors Megan Britt and Anna Hall came to multiple conclusions, including:

“Despite recent reforms to Chapter 70, significant questions persist about the accuracy of the formula for calculating adequate spending, and for determining an equitable distribution of state aid.”

“…The political implications of this spending discrepancy are significant, posing a serious challenge to Chapter 70’s mandate to provide an adequate level of funding.” 

You can read the full 48-page report (which is not light reading, but incredibly insightful) here:

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/var/ezp_site/storage/fckeditor/file/pdfs/centers-programs/centers/rappaport/paes/final_chapter70.pdf

The goal of Chapter 70, when it was radically altered in 1993 as part of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act, was to ensure equal educational opportunity in each school district across the state by providing the necessary funds to maintain an “adequate” school system. Interestingly, as the Harvard study points out, there is NO mandate from the state that a town must spend Chapter 70 state aid on education. Chapter 70 money from the state can be spent on ANYTHING the municipality desires.

Let’s move on to the next major hole in the legislation. Chapter 70, as it is written, guarantees a minimum of 17.5 percent funding of EVERY town’s “adequate” school budget.

Over the last 10 years of Chapter 70, Swampscott has never once received close to that level of funding. In fact, the average amount per student provided to Swampscott over that time is about $1,200, when 17.5 percent would have been about $1,850 or more. Since the so-called Chapter 70 reform in 2005, which explicitly stated the goal of getting all cities to the foundation minimum (simply repeating what the original legislation claimed in 1993), Swampscott has been shorted by more than $5 MILLION.

Why are we continually underfunded? Is the formula stacked against us? Politically, are our concerns falling on deaf ears? Does the state and legislature think that we, because we are statistically (population) insignificant, have no reasonable means of changing the future?

The answer is yes to all of the above. Very simply, we are not being taken seriously as citizens and taxpayers. That needs to change.

We need to make the people who oversee Chapter 70 know that we mean business. Please call these people immediately and ask them why Swampscott isn’t funded properly by Chapter 70. Ask them to come to Swampscott and explain to us in person why the State of Massachusetts has consistently chosen to underfund our town:

Governor Deval Patrick – 617.725.4005

Senate Ways and Means Leader Stephen Brewer – 617.722.1481

House Ways and Means Leader Brian Dempsey – 617.722.2380 

Speak up for your rights and change the status quo.

Barry Greenfield

Selectman, Swampscott MA