Full funding and staffing for Middleborough Public Schools
In Middleborough, Massachusetts, the school board claims that a $2.2 million shortfall in the proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 means they have to lay off 29 staff members in the school system, including 23 teachers. This is despite the school board proposing a $10,000 raise to the superintendent’s annual salary of $200,000 and 2 new highly-paid administrator positions: a district coordinator at $224,000, and a director of student services at $147,000. Despite having $2.7 million dollars in its “free cash” fund, Middleborough town administrators seem to think stripping local workers of their livelihood is a “solution.” Many teachers have to work second jobs in order to try and cover their cost of living. The proposed cuts would hurt our schools, force a heavier workload onto teachers, make it harder to offer all the courses students need, 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, Boston is proposing 400+ cuts, Brookline 80, Chelsea 70, and 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 Middleborough’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 Middleborough 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, student walkouts in Boston against cuts involving 3,500 students succeeded in reversing 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 Middleborough! 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.
- $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 