by tjohnston | Aug 21, 2023 | Local News, State/National News
Months after Gov. Maura Healey’s initial budget proposal showed a moderate increase to rural school aid, that line item has nearly tripled in the approved budget, in what area administrators say is a step in the right direction toward equitable education in rural...
by tjohnston | May 9, 2023 | CES Stories, State/National News
NORTHAMPTON — Even if the students at Bridge Street Elementary School didn’t know who Patrick Tutwiler was, they could clearly tell he was somebody important. Students frequently stopped him during a Monday tour of the pre-K-5 school to say hello, shake his hand and...
by tjohnston | Jul 29, 2022 | State/National News
Signing his eighth and final budget as the state’s chief executive, Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday agreed to a major increase in state spending as he approved the vast majority of a $52.7 billion annual budget, vetoed less than half a million dollars of outlays,...
by tjohnston | Nov 21, 2019 | State/National News
BOSTON — It was a joyous atmosphere on Beacon Hill Wednesday as the state Legislature unanimously passed the $1.5 billion Student Opportunity Act school funding bill. And western Massachusetts lawmakers have their fingerprints all over the legislation. The landmark...
by tjohnston | Mar 3, 2019 | Local News
CHESTERFIELD — As the state eyes changing the way it funds public education, rural schools are asking that the law take into account the unique challenges their districts face and establish rural school aid. The Massachusetts Rural Schools Coalition, led by Michael...
