ISG members after the 3/10/26 Boston City Council public hearing on the school budget, where ISG testified against proposed cuts
Full funding and staffing for Boston Public Schools
The Boston School Committee is proposing laying off over 400 education workers in its plans for next year’s school budget. 265 classroom teachers and 161 paraprofessionals will lose their jobs if these cuts are voted through. This would be devastating to these Boston Public School workers, many of whom struggle to get by and have to work second jobs in one of the country’s most expensive cities. Paraprofessionals in Boston only make starting wages of $40,000/year. The cuts would hurt our schools, force a heavier workload onto teachers, leave many students with fewer supports and less of the classes and programs they all deserve, and result in larger classroom sizes.
Layoffs of education workers are being proposed across the state: Framingham has voted to cut 51 jobs in their school system, Chelsea is proposing 70, Brookline 20, Middleborough 29, Grafton 18. Recently this past November, the Whitman-Hanson school system laid off 23 of their workers to cover a $1.4 million dollar deficit. The Democrats are quick to boast about the success of the newly passed Fair Share Amendment, with the generated revenue exceeding original projections. There’s no reason why public school workers across the state should be facing layoffs.The $3.85 billion dedicated to public school funding from the Fair Share law can be used to keep these workers employed. None of it should be put into reserve funds as has been done this past year. In addition to the Fair Share billions, the Commonwealth Stabilization (or “Rainy Day”) Fund is supposed to be used specifically for covering shortfalls and addressing emergencies that threaten the state’s welfare. The “Rainy Day” fund currently holds a record high of between $8.1 billion and $8.6 billion, over 4000x the amount needed to prevent the budget cuts threatening Boston’s schools.
The state government taxes working people heavily without using that wealth to improve their lives. It’s bad enough for working people that our schools are funded mainly through property taxes, considering the many property tax breaks the state hands corporations, but it’s a disgrace for the state to withhold funds that are explicitly intended for the type of emergency the Boston public school system is facing.
Neither the Democratic or Republican party is a friend to the working class. In Democrat-controlled Massachusetts, cuts are being implemented by the Democratic Party itself. Both corporate parties would rather lay off teachers than give the necessary funding to public schools. The Trump regime and the Republicans are trying to dismantle the Department of Education altogether, disregarding entirely the need for strong public schools. Local communities, including students, should work together with unions to support each other in standouts, walkouts, protests, rallies, strikes, to demand full funding for public schools. In 2016, Boston public school students organized walkouts against cuts involving and succeeded in preventing some of the proposed layoffs. As we fight the immediate attacks on our children’s education, the only option for working-class families is to support organizing a new political party for working people, independent of corporate money and interests. By building a workers’ party, we can unite to fight against cuts to public education, for full funding and staffing in our schools by taxing corporations and the rich, and for quality public education for all.
The Independent Socialist Group (ISG) stands in solidarity with the public school workers of Boston! We say quality education should be a right, not a privilege.
- No layoffs of public school workers
- Use town and state funds to cover the projected budget shortfalls and increase funding to our schools
- Increase taxes on the corporations, multi-millionaires, and billionaires
- Boston school committee positions should be elected, not appointed.
- $30 an hour minimum wage for workers across MA, including the 80% of paraeducators making less than $30,000/year
- Education workers unions and the broader labor movement in Massachusetts should organize rallies, informational pickets, and other action to oppose these cuts
- End the ban on public-sector strikes
- Ban all no-strike clauses in union contracts
- Organize an independent worker’s party built with the support and backing of our unions
Independent Socialist Group 