Education funding is an important social justice issue. Currently, how Massachusetts funds education and the impact on student outcomes is a hot topic as the state legislature takes up major reforms.
The Faith In Action Committee and the League of Women Voters of Sudbury and are co-sponsoring a public forum titled “State Education Funding: Does It Make the Grade?” on 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 gap between performance outcomes in wealthy versus poorer school districts.
Questions on education funding can be submitted in advance via email to . The forum will be live-streamed on Facebook and will be broadcast on Sudbury TV at a later date.