Petitioners Rail Against Proposed $3.5M Cut To Medford Schools

MEDFORD, MA — Petitioners are calling on the mayor and City Council reverse the $3.5 million budget cut to the Medford Public Schools in the proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget. More than 300 people have signed the petition, which launched Thursday in response to what it calls the "severe underfunding" of the public schools.

"Since 2007, the city budget has grown by 47.5% but the school budget has only grown by 39.1%," the petition, started by resident Angie Truesdale, states. "It's time to prioritize our schools!"

In addition to reversing the budget cut, the petition asks officials to allocate $2-3 million from the city's $5 million CARES Act fund to prepare the district for next year amid the pandemic; fill the $9 million gap identified in a letter reviewed by the School Committee on June 25; plan for a future capital project based on the results of the Vision Committee; and allocate funding and district resources to the Racial Equity Task Force.

Superintendent Marice Edouard-Vincent's plan to account for the $3.5 million cut includes eliminating four administrators, six non-union staff, four secretaries, 25 teachers, one paraprofessional and seven retirement positions, as well as $700,000 in supply and other non-staff reductions, School Committee member Jenny Graham said last week. Despite this, the superintendent's plan fell $500,000 short.

Initial budget talks in early 2020 indicated the district would be able to increase funding by as much as 2.8-3 percent, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn wrote in her proposal. Due to COVID-19, the amount being appropriated to the Medford Public Schools is equal to that of Fiscal Year 2020 – $61,250,000 – but fixed costs have increased by $3,557,835.

"While this budget does not include an increase in spending for our schools, let me be clear: our children deserve nothing short of every resource that they need in order to be successful," Lungo-Koehn wrote. "I say this not only as Mayor, but as a parent with three children in the Medford Public Schools. The budget decisions made with respect to the schools are among the toughest I have faced since taking office."

Lungo-Koehn said she will make addressing the shortfall to the Medford Public Schools her top priority once it is clear how much local aid the city will receive.

See Also: 111 Medford Teachers Let Go, But Many Could Return

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