Tracy O'Connell Novick Profile picture
Jul 10, 2018 21 tweets 8 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
Okay, the House is going to take up a "foundation budget reform" bill, we're told.

For what should #MAEdu be watching?
Well, the first thing is, while we may pick it up, so far the House is being pretty careful about references to the Commission (which I'm echoing by not tagging them with #FBRC).
Where's the references to the Commission?
Three years out.
Work of more than a year.
Hours and hours of testimony.
Pages and pages of research.
Hours and hours of discussion.
And so far, it looks like there's some careful dancing around that.
Now why is that?

I suspect it's because we're not going to see real #FBRC implementation.
#FBRC, as you might remember, had four main parts plus a few more "hey, pay attention" pieces and a data section.

Lots of us have worried right along that it would be chopped up.
Why?

Not everyone benefits the same from the ELL and low income sections.
Why?

Because not all districts have the same proportion of ELL and low income kids.
(we could do that "Why?" on another thread. Our districts are pretty stunningly segregated, though.)
BUT that means that, well, I'll let Homer take this:
Hmm.
Claims of "equal" and "fair" aren't what this is about, though.

This is about meeting kids' needs.
That's what "among the different orders of the people" in the state constitution means. In 1779, the state recognized that we had different needs among our students.
We may be told we don't know enough to complete those parts.

Please read the report.
(which was passed unanimously)
It's alllll been researched.
It's alllll been backed up.

And kids don't get this time back.
"the ELL population has nearly doubled from 45,400 in 1998 to 90,200 in 2017"
(that's @MassBudget)
"close to one in seven children in Massachusetts lives in poverty, and is at risk for a wide variety of lifelong challenges"
(also @MassBudget)
So if you say "we can't put real numbers in for poor kids and kids learning English," what does that say?
Yeah.
Nothing good.
Does the Mass House reeeeeeeally want to pass something that leaves out the needs of our poorest kids? Our kids learning English?
Now?
Watch for that.
If it isn't in the bill, add it.

Don't leave our neediest kids behind. #FBRC
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More from @TracyNovick

Sep 12, 2018
Next up in #amreading: “White Kids: Growing Up With Privilege in a Racially Divided America” by Margaret Hagerman.
(And yes, this one I bought. Usually, I am a devoted @CWMARSinfo user.)
Read 30 tweets
Aug 28, 2018
I mean, here's the thing on hot school buildings in New England:

A) we didn't build for this. We absolutely have not built schools that were intended to have classes running in them during weeks of 90 plus degree days until recently.
B) We didn't, because we didn't need to! We didn't HAVE classes running in buildings for multiple 90-plus degree days.
(Ergo, incidently, why A/C is in admin...they're there all summer.)
C) We do now, not only because climate change, but yeah, in part climate change (also the 180/900/990 requirements from the state PLUS caution around driving=tight scheduling timelines)
Read 13 tweets
Jul 31, 2018
“Wisdom, and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people,
“being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties;
“and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the country,
Read 14 tweets
Jul 10, 2018
Okay, I just stuck the House foundation budget bill in my Dropbox here: dropbox.com/s/9keifw8ws54q…

thread following
#FBRC said in-district to 3.75% for regular; 4.75% for voke
House bill says in-district to 4%; 5% for voke

That's your sugar to help the medicine go down, because there is no other good news here.
Health insurance change DOES add retirees and ties to three years of GIC, so...sure.
Read 18 tweets
Jun 6, 2018
4 o’clock. Tea time. Time for some #FBRC myth busting.
The first objection I hear all the time to passing an #FBRC bill is:

"We don't have the money!"
Read.
The.
Bill.

The bill calls for a phased-in implementation done by annual meetings to agree among Gov-House-Senate on that year's implementation.
It's a commitment and it's a plan.
Read 27 tweets
May 29, 2018
Heading Worcester City Hall-ward, as the school budget is before City Council at 4-ish.

Tweeting to follow.
Liveblog will go up here: who-cester.blogspot.com/2018/05/worces… Some "things to look for" already posted.
if you're a WPS budget bingo player, you'll want to have:

"largest sector of the Worcester budget"
(the person saying it gets minus points for somehow thinking they're allocating Ch.70)
Read 35 tweets

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