On March 30, in the midst of several recent Newton Public Schools (NPS) budgeting meetings, Superintendent Anna Nolin and the School Committee held a special meeting with the State Legislators representing Newton:
- Senator Cindy Creem – Massachusetts Senate Majority Leader representing Newton, Brookline, and part of Wellesley
- Representative Amy Sangiolo – 11th Middlesex House Representative (Newton generally north of Commonwealth Avenue)
- Representative Greg Schwartz – 12th Middlesex House Representative (Newton generally south of Commonwealth Avenue and part of Brookline)
- Representative John Lawn, Jr. – 10th Middlesex House Representative (portions of Newtonville and Nonantum north of Washington Street/east of Crafts Street, and parts of Watertown and Waltham)
All are Newton residents except Rep. Lawn, who resides in Watertown. The one-hour meeting began with Dr. Nolin presenting an overview of NPS, including the statistics that 18% of students receive some form of special education services, and 30% are classified as “high needs” (defined by the state as special needs, poor, and/or non-English speaking students). These populations connect to particular state funding programs. Also highlighted were recent achievements such as the Newton South debate team’s championship, and the positive effects of the district’s recent focus on math and literacy intervention.
The presentation then addressed statewide legislative issues impacting NPS, including:
- Spiraling costs to place and transport high-needs students in out-of-district private schools,
- The level of “Chapter 70” funding from the redistribution system of state taxes to local school districts,
- Proposed statewide “bell to bell” student cell phone bans,
- Possible changes to the METCO requirements, and
- The Healy-Driscoll recommendations for high school graduation requirements following the 2024 repeal of the MCAS requirement.
The School Committee’s legislative subcommittee consists of Ben Schlesinger (Ward 5) and Arri Proia (Ward 1). Along with Dr. Nolin, they thanked the legislators for recent earmarks such as $200,000 special education funding, $40,000 for math pathways curriculum, $30,000 for NECP’s preschool early intervention program, and $25,000 for digital writing.
Each of the four state legislators then spoke, addressing portions of the presentation while inserting their own policy priorities.
Rep. Lawn Jr. referenced many Massachusetts districts having budget challenges, including Lexington’s highly publicized staff cuts. He cited the bell-to-bell ban introduced in the House, while noting that “Watertown has a different system” without bell-to-bell in high school, and he said different communities will have customized needs for cell phone policies. He asked, “What can we do to be helpful?”
Sen. Creem discussed upcoming allocation decisions from the recently passed Fair Share Act supplemental funding, and she previewed that there may be differing House and Senate bills for cell phone bans that will have to be reconciled. She worries about unfunded education mandates, and she stated that earlier in her elected service she “has not experienced as much anxiety from constituents.” Sen. Creem also advised against supporting an upcoming ballot initiative to lower state tax rates.
Sen. Creem cited her work on the recently passed Freedom To Read Act, which prohibits book-banning laws, and she mentioned a book authored by her son being banned in two other states due to a transgender character. She also expressed concern that many in the Statehouse are seeking to reallocate Chapter 70 funding further away from affluent school districts like Newton.
Rep. Sangiolo also discussed cell phone bans but said a policy must be “cognizant of having unfunded mandates.” Her concerns include school districts “beholden to two companies that control all the [bus] transportation in the state,” and she said she filed a bill to ease school bus electrification. Rep. Sangiolo reiterated concern about possible Chapter 70 changes that would “hurt Newton.”
Rep. Schwartz put a sharper point on Chapter 70 funding concerns, noting that Governor Healey had proposed cutting in half Newton’s per-student reimbursement level. He thought NPS’s current bell-to-bell phone ban is “working pretty well” and adding an unfunded mandate is “something we want to avoid.” He also raised the recommendations of the state antisemitism commission and noted they were “not just about Holocaust teaching” but also about Jewish contributions and said that the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is committed to working with middle and high schools on this. Superintendent Nolin replied that she “hears a fair amount of interest in where we are,” regarding dealing with antisemitism and that NPS is “waiting for guidance from DESE.”
After each legislator spoke, the meeting opened for questions from the School Committee. Tamika Olzsewski (Ward 4) began by noting that the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were the “high water mark” for DEI conversations, stated the current federal government was “being hostile,” and she asked how the state is partnering with districts to “make these things more feasible.”
The legislators replied indirectly without addressing police brutality (except for alluding to a 2020 law signed by former Governor Charlie Baker to ban police chokeholds) nor earmarks focused particularly on Black residents; instead referencing efforts to support transgender rights, diversity in hiring, and federal 340B funding of prescription drugs for low-income hospitals. Rep. Sangiolo, noting she was on the House Racial Justice and Diversity Committee, told the Committee that if there is something in Newton being cut, “that’s something we’ll [try to] bring back.”
Sen. Creem then mentioned new potential METCO requirements, including mandated funding for special-needs METCO students, and she said, “I see the impossibleness of being able to continue the program” if you have a student with a disability. She expressed a desire to continue the METCO program. Dr. Nolin affirmed the future challenges of Newton continuing METCO.
Jonathan Greene (Ward 6) then asked for more detail regarding electric buses and expressed concern about another unfunded state mandate. Rep. Sangiolo clarified that the new proposed bill changes how electric buses are assessed for procurement, but it does not mandate them. Dr. Nolin noted Newton has expressed desire for an electric bus option when the district solicits bus services, but NPS’s sole vendor does not offer them. Dr. Nolin then complimented the state Inspector General for audit work and said she’s hearing that busing contracts are getting more competitive.
Jason Bhardwaj (Vice Chair, Ward 3) thanked the legislators for the state’s financial support, and he noted bell-to-bell bans are complicated at Newton’s open campus high schools. He also advocated for Newton’s proposed math pathways curriculum, calling it “what we need to make students [not] caught in tracks, it’s a flexible system for acceleration and support,” and he advocated for state assistance for after-school and summer math resources.
The meeting replay is available on NewTV, within the first portion of the video including the School Committee budget meeting immediately afterwards.
