NEA Organizing a March 4th Nationwide Day of Action
The NEA "Protect Our Kids" campaign is mobilizing educators, parents, students, and community allies to fight against the dismantling of the Department of Education and devastating cuts to public education. They are asking NEA members nationwide to take action on March 4th--this coming Tuesday.
Let's join our union colleagues across the state and nation by bringing back T-Shirt Tuesday on March 4th! Wear your NTA T-Shirts this Tuesday and be sure to take plenty of solidarity photos to share on social media!
Newton Public Schools Budget Season
We are now one year out from a brutal contract campaign, and two years out from two years of consecutive budget cuts. So what is Mayor Fuller doing this last year of her mayoralty? Demanding NPS budget cuts for next school year!
If you recall, for each of the 2021-2022 and the 2022-2023 school years, David Fleishman presented budget proposals with approximately $4 million in cuts each year. The final budget cuts were less, but only after monumental campaigns launched spontaneously by both the parent community and the Newton Teachers Association. But these campaigns were accompanied by months of uncertainly, with many of our members not knowing if, and in what capacity, they would be working the following year.
Part of the problem then was that David Fleishman ignored the needs of the Newton Public Schools and presented austerity budgets that failed to meet student needs. He--and the Newton School Committee--accepted what the mayor offered, and did not advocate publicly for what the students of Newton needed.
(That's not entirely true. During the first year of proposed cuts, the school committee resolved not to approve a budget with the cuts the Mayor was requiring. But when Mayor Fuller closed the gap by about half, from that point forward, the school committee caved and gave up the fight. They never publicly stood up against the mayor again. They apparently saved all of their fight for their battle against the NTA during contract negotiations!)
To her great credit, Superintendent Anna Nolin is fighting back--publicly! In a public school committee budget workshop, Nolin made it clear that both she and the other eight members of the school committee have a legal obligation to consider the budget in the light of the needs of the Newton Public Schools, and not simply "back into" the limited allocation from the Mayor.
She presented to the committee and Mayor Fuller a set of budget proposals that ranged from a "Thrive" budget that would require $25 million in additional funding, to a budget that would stay within the Mayor's allocation, and entail $6 million in budget cuts. It is of note that all of those budget proposals include honoring the school committee's contractual obligation to fund full time kindergarten aides in every kindergarten classroom!
As things stand right now, this is going to be another painful budget season, with the Mayor once again hoarding tens of millions of dollars in "free cash," while demanding cuts from the Newton Public Schools.
A budget battle with Mayor Fuller is looming. This time around, let's hope we are fighting in tandem with the Newton School Committee and not against it! Can you imagine that: A school committee and a superintendent fighting for the schools are students deserve, and not complicit in undermining them!?
Survey Results
The full survey results can be accessed by clicking here. You will find the aggregated results of all the multiple choice questions as well as a summary of the open feedback questions. It is a rather large document, but quite revealing.
MTA Licensure Workshops
The Center for Education Policy & Practice and Training & Professional Learning invite PreK-12 Educators to join Education Policy Specialist Beth Tripathi and Professional Development Strategist Dan Callahan for workshops on the licensure process for different career stages. Registration is open now for the Winter Virtual Licensure Workshops:
Mar. 26 – Professional License Renewal
All workshops will be at 7 PM. Members can register at https://massteacher.org/events-and-conferences/licensure-workshops.
MTA/NEA Events This Year:
MTA Annual Meeting and NEA Representative Assembly
The MTA Annual Meeting is May 2-3 in Springfield, MA. This is where representatives from every local union in the state come together to set the budget and policy guidance for the upcoming year. We can send about 17 people to the meeting, and can offset costs for members who attend and vote.
The NEA Representative Assembly is meeting in Portland, Oregon from July 2-6 to set the agenda at the national level for the 25-26 school year. We can send 7 individuals from AEA. We can help to offset the costs (but not fully reimburse) anyone who wants to attend.
In solidarity,
Mike Zilles, President
Newton Teachers Association
Comments