Springfield Teachers in Fight of Professional Lives

Everywhere I go members are angry and frustrated and they have every right to be. What is happening to us and the children we teach is unconscionable and we will not let it stand. We are in a fight for our professional lives, the life of our school district, and the very life of the city of Springfield.

We will win this fight because our cause is right and just. We will win this fight because when we shine the light of truth on this situation we will have many allies, not only among our brothers and sisters in other unions but among all citizens who value fair play and justice and their quality of life.

This is going to take unified and dramatic action on our part and the SEA will do whatever is necessary to accomplish our goal.

Step one is to make sure everyone in this community and in the commonwealth knows how we got here.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

 Over the last eight years or more, the city has: rolled over debt to the next year’s Budget, submitted budgets for State approval that were only balanced based on the assumption that 100 percent of property taxes would be collected, put aside seriously insufficient funds for contingency (rainy day fund) and the State Department of Revenue has allowed the city to balance its budget based on property tax revenue that it did not actually collect.
 State Secretary of Administration and Finance Mr. Kriss and his predecessors approved each of these budgets that our previous mayors have submitted.
 It wasn’t until the City Council requested a review by the State’s Department of Revenue during the last city election cycle that the elected officials heard from the State that there were significant problems with our Budget.
 The city of Springfield built and renovated several school buildings before receiving the 90 percent reimbursement from the State.
 The Governor and the Legislature have significantly reduced aid to the Springfield Public Schools in each of the last three State Budgets and to the city’s general fund (city side budget) each of the last three years. The State has not reimbursed the city for mandated programs such as Special Education and court ordered busing.
 The city of Springfield has only contributed the minimum amount of money to the schools that is required by the State while the other school districts in Hampden County received 9 percent to 10 percent more money from their cities and towns than the law requires.
 The share of Springfield’s net school spending that is charged to the municipal side of local government is twice the average of the other communities in Hampden County.
 The State’s funding formula for commonwealth charter schools is not equitable and has drained critically needed resources from the Springfield Public Schools.
 Springfield’s income--adjusted property valuation (this is the formula used to determine the city’s ability to support education) is the lowest in Hampden County.