Mass Education Funding Forum Comes To Sudbury

From the Sudbury League of Women Voters:

October 25 2019

LWV, First Parish Host Forum On Education Funding Nov. 17

How Massachusetts funds education and the impact on student outcomes is a hot topic as the state legislature takes up major reforms.

The League of Women Voters of Sudbury and First Parish of Sudbury Unitarian Universalist are co-sponsoring a public forum “State Education Funding: Does It Make the Grade?” Sunday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m. at First Parish. The forum is free and open to the public.

Speakers will discuss the history of education reform and how the current funding system works, the education budget reforms pending in the legislature, and the need to close the achievement gap for students in our education system. There will be a question period after the presentations.

Mary Frantz, education finance specialist for the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, will review the history of education reform and the development of the current foundation budget funding system.

Anastasia Martinez, policy analyst with the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, an independent research and analysis organization, will outline the changes in education funding proposed in the pending legislation, the Student Opportunity Act, and the impact those changes will have on school districts.

Norma Shapiro, vice president of the board of Citizens for Public Schools, an education advocacy organization, will address the impact of funding discrepancies among school districts and the need to provide funding that will close the achievement gap between wealthy and poorer school districts.

Questions on education funding can be submitted in advance via email to lwvforumquestions@gmail.com.

The forum will be live-streamed on Facebook at facebook.com/LWVSudbury.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization which encourages informed and active participation in government and works to increase understanding of major public policy issues.

First Parish of Sudbury is a Welcoming Unitarian Universalist congregation.

The forum was organized by the Faith In Action committee at First Parish and the League’s education committee.

This press release was produced by the Sudbury League of Women Voters. The views expressed here are the author’s own.