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Dr. David Hopson |
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September 17, 2007 Gateway has received $130,000 through the Massachusetts Department of Education’s Foundation Reserve Grant Program (also known as ‘Pothole’ funds). While the reasons for awarding these grants change each year, Gateway qualified under “Assistance for Regional Districts in Rural Areas with Declining Enrollment”. This category essentially followed the tenets of the R.E.D. (Rural, Economically Challenged, Declining Enrollment) circuit breaker proposal put forth by several rural, regional school districts last year that would provide additional state aid to districts that meet specific criteria. In a nutshell, the R.E.D. proposal argued that schools in rural areas are at a competitive disadvantage because they face a combination of problems that result in reduced state educational aid. Small, rural communities are unable to make up the difference. Those of us who live in the hilltowns have an instinctive understanding of these issues and live with long commutes, higher costs for basic services, and a limited commercial tax base to offset property taxes. Gateway’s rural setting means that bus runs are long and few students are picked up per mile of driving, school populations are low, overhead is high, and economy of scale is hard to accomplish. I believe this is difficult for many of the state’s legislators and officials—for whom a “long drive” to the store may be only a block or two—to understand. Furthermore, it is probably hard for individuals in cities such as Lawrence (6.97 square miles) to conceptualize population densities of 6.9 students per square mile (Gateway’s ‘official’ density) when the Lawrence school system serves more than 12,000 students (1,760 students per square mile). I’m sure it’s almost inconceivable that the 7 towns that make up the Gateway district (205 square miles) have fewer people in total than Boston Public Schools have just in staff. Compounding this problem is an overall decline in the number of students living in rural areas, which directly translates into further loss of state revenue. Our geographic diversity and low population density do not allow us to easily consolidate schools, and drive the per pupil cost of educating students ever higher. While the state determines what percentage of the total cost of educating students it should pay, they rarely provide enough money to pay that amount to the schools. What does all this mean to you? The good news is that the state has used—and thus in some fashion, justified—the parameters of the R.E.D. proposal. The bad news is that unless people in areas like ours work to educate legislators and state officials about the financial needs and unique circumstances surrounding rural districts, there will be no change to the education funding formula (Chapter 70) that will provide long-term financial relief to rural districts and their property tax assessments. What can you do? Join the Friends of Gateway and other groups throughout the state in writing to state officials and legislators to help them understand the concerns of rural, regional school districts in Massachusetts. You can find related information about the R.E.D. proposal at www.grsd.org/admnistration/FY08.htm and information and help with letter writing at www.grsd.org/fog/projects.htm. This is the perfect time to take action, while state officials have time to consider new legislation and changes to funding formulas. Waiting until May—when legislators already have their agendas set and local town meetings must try and make ends meet in financing both town and school needs is too late to make an impact. If we all take an active role in this process, we can succeed in getting Massachusetts to put a fairer approach to funding rural schools in place. ### |
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