After a decisive victory against the expansion of charter schools last year, Massachusetts public school teachers now hope to win more funding and policy changes from the Legislature.
With charter school expansion in the rearview, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the state's largest union, wants the Legislature to significantly increase funding for traditional public schools. A bill before the Senate this session from Sen. Michael Rush (D-West Roxbury) would raise local school funding levels by up to 42 percent, adding between one and two billion dollars to school spending over several years.
Tax revenues problems and expanding medical care costs have put the state's budget in peril, threatening commitments from Gov. Charlie Baker and lawmakers to increase school funding.
The bill would also put a three-year moratorium on standardized testing requirements, mandate recess for grade schoolers and reduce the the number of schools subject to state intervention.
The ballot question to expand charter schools failed last November, with 63 percent of voters rejecting the idea.