On Nov. 8th, Vote "YES" on Question 1 to pass the Fair Share Amendment!
Updated: Feb 5
I believe in the power of public education to change lives.
That is why I teach at a public high school and university. That is why I belong to the New Bedford Coalition to Save Our Schools. That is why I serve on the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. And, that is why I am urging voters to go to the polls on Nov. 8 and vote “yes” on Question 1 so we can pass the Fair Share Amendment.
This reasonable tax on income above $1 million means that our public schools and colleges and the public transportation that our state so desperately needs will receive billions of dollars – annually.
This will be a gamechanger for everyone in Massachusetts, and most importantly our students.
In a school like mine, those resources can make sure that students are working with the most up-to-date technology and other career-path tools.
We will be able to make investments in staff, so our students are supported along every step of their educational journey.
Across the state, this investment in public education will allow schools to reduce class sizes. It will allow districts to increase the number of counselors, reducing caseloads per counselor. It will mean that school libraries will be staffed. It means that every school can have a nurse working in the building.
The social and emotional needs of our students are as important as their academic needs are. This was true before the pandemic and awareness to these needs has certainly heightened since. We need to be ready to teach to the whole child, and not be forced by inadequate funding coupled with high-stakes standardized testing into narrowing our vision of education and what our students can accomplish.
And once our students receive the best possible education in their elementary schools, middle schools and high schools, they deserve access to affordable, high-quality public colleges and universities.
Money raised through Fair Share will allow Massachusetts to lift the burden of debt off of our students attending public colleges, and that will have far-reaching economic benefits for the entire state, not just for the families worrying about how to pay for college.
Now, absent of sufficient funding, our public schools and colleges are easy targets for the privatization industry that cares more about the bottom line than about our students and our communities. Public education is a public good that must be defended and quite frankly expanded.
The Student Opportunity Act was a crucial first step in restoring funding that our public schools had been wrongfully denied for two decades. But that landmark piece of legislation gets our schools to minimum basic standards.
Fair Share will allow educators to do more for more students.
This is an exciting moment in time. It is an opportunity to make real change for our children. I urge you to support public education and to vote yes on Question 1 on Nov. 8.
To learn more about the Fair Share Amendment, listen to podcast episode #1!