Advocate to your state reps now

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There are several bills proposed to the Massachusetts legislature that have the potential to bring hundreds of thousands of dollars into our schools budget this year. This funding won’t alleviate our current school budget shortfall, but it could make an important difference, saving needed programs and positions. 
 
The reason this funding is available is that there’s a $1.4 billion surplus from the Fair Share Act (aka the Millionaire’s Tax). This funding can only go toward education and transportation. We need to push our state legislators to direct that surplus to the 232 school districts classified in the “hold harmless” status, which includes ARPS.
 
The Superintendent’s Office and the School Committees are already working to advocate for these legislative initiatives. But it’s really important that our state reps hear from us. This funding is not a sure thing, and we need a strong show of support to push our legislators to move it forward.
 
HERE’S THE ASK: Send an email to your state reps urging them to support the Project 211+21 funding proposals that will direct the Fair Share Act surplus to hold harmless school districts. This is also a great opportunity to push them to change the charter school funding model that’s draining millions from our school budget each year.
 
Your email doesn’t need to be long. A paragraph that expresses your concern about the proposed school budget cuts and describes in a personal way how these cuts will impact your children or family would be great. 
 
Below are a few models of these letters to give you some ideas. Just remember that these emails will be most effective if they aren’t boilerplate but rather are personal.
 
Here are the email addresses to our reps (cut and paste based on where you live):
 
 
 
You can find an overview of the budget cuts ARPS is facing here. The details of the state funding proposals are here.
 
Please do this soon! Today would be ideal, but definitely this week. They need to hear from us!
 
Also, mark your calendars: There will be a Ways and Means Legislative Local Aid Hearing on March 24th at 11:00 AM at the UMASS Amherst Campus Center. We need to show up in force to that hearing to send the message that education funding is critical to our community.
 
Please share widely.
 
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Some models of letters:
EXAMPLE 1
Dear Jo and Mindy,
 
I’m the parent to a 4th and 6th grader at Wildwood elementary school in Amherst. I’m deeply concerned about the proposed cuts to the Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools and am writing to urge you to advocate for the Project 211+21 funding proposals that will direct the $1.4 billion Fair Share Act surplus to the “hold harmless” school districts. Bringing additional state funding into our district right now is critical to stem these cuts, and to prevent them from recurring each year. I also hope that you will take action to fix the broken charter funding model, which is a big reason why we are in this position.
 
All of the cuts on the table would be devastating, but I am most concerned about the proposed cuts of 5 core teaching positions at the middle school. Cutting these essential educators would transform the educational model of the middle school irrevocably, making the successful team-based model impossible. With higher workloads and larger class sizes, our teachers wouldn’t be able to provide the oversight and personal attention that our students need. It will be so much harder to maintain academic standards, to and ensure that incidents of bullying are identified and stopped before they grow into major problems.
 
At the elementary school level, our valued “specials” teachers – Art, Music, Library, Physical Education, and Technology – will be reduced to .9 positions, as will our wonderful Band and Orchestra teachers. These subjects are fundamental to our children’s education, and should not be reduced. These are the teachers that shepherd our children through each year, from K-6. My children glow when they talk about their Band teacher and their beloved school librarian. We need to retain and support these teachers, not cut them. 

Please do whatever you can to support the Project 211+ proposals. We need your advocacy on this now.

 
 
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EXAMPLE 2 

 

I urge you to advocate for the funding proposals that will direct the $1.4 billion Fair Share Act
surplus to address the critical needs of the 232 “hold harmless” school districts. In Amherst we
are facing severe budget cuts that will irrevocably transform our public schools and personally
impact my kids who are currently in 3rd and 8th grade.
 
Both of my kids have ADHD and have benefited greatly from the support services offered
through their IEP programs. The care and work with special education professionals—psychiatrists, speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists, and others—have helped my kids develop skills and abilities that come more naturally to
neurotypical kids, which has enabled them to excel academically, gain confidence, and
contribute to a positive learning environment for their peers. My 8th grader, who is on the
autism spectrum, is part of the AIMS program at the Middle School. This specialized support, in
conjunction with the TEAMS teaching model, has given him a core group of teachers and
professionals who know him well and can help him thrive and reach his full potential.
 
I am very concerned that the proposed cuts to both the ARMS core teachers and special
education programs will fundamentally undermine the very core of what has allowed both of
my children to achieve their academic potential and develop critical social and personal skills
that will set them up for success in school and beyond.
 
I hope you will find ways to advocate for resources that will prevent these cuts and work with
our town government to address this crisis in our school’s funding.
 
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 EXAMPLE 3

Dear Mindy and Jo – 

 
Jo as you wrote in a newsletter earlier this year, “it’s been a decade since the state last reviewed the foundation budget formula (what the state contributes to K-12 education, often referred to as Chapter 70) and 18 years since the last amendments were made to the local education contribution formula (what cities and towns contribute)”. 
 
As I know you both are aware, Amherst and our regional schools are facing a significant budget cliff, and so these proposed reforms are extremely necessary and can’t come soon enough. We also need significant reform in how the charter school funding is allocated. I don’t pretend to think that state level fixes will solve all of our budget challenges, but we need to do everything we can at the state level to ensure we are getting our fair share. 
 
I have learned from the project 211+21 group that there are several opportunities available for one-time FY24 Fair Share Act surplus funding and proposed FY26 state budget line-item increases. Some of these may not benefit Amherst as much as others, or may benefit the region which would still help the budget challenges for the middle and high school. Either way, I am reaching out to urge you to support these requests and proposals, and to let us know how we can further support you in advocating for these and other reforms. 
 
It would be extremely valuable for your constituents to hear from you about these proposals and reforms – what will help, what may not, and then how we can get involved. I also urge you to consider doing a town hall or community meeting – there is a lot of energy in town to move forward on these issues and we want to make sure it is being put to good use.

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