The Codcast: Widespread praise for ed funding bill

When the year started, with Beacon Hill poised to make another go at a bill revamping the state’s education funding formula, some advocates were focused on boosting funding for schools, while others were insisting that new money come with new ways of holding districts accountable for how it’s spent and for closing the yawning achievement gaps that characterize the state’s K-12 landscape. 

The fact that leading voices from both camps are applauding the legislation that was rolled out last week underscores the success legislative leaders have had in crafting a bill that’s receiving widespread support.

“Two thumbs up,” said Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz on a new episode of The Codcast. “In vast majority, it hits all of the marks,” she said of the bill unveiled jointly by the education committee co-chairs, Rep. Alice Peisch and Sen. Jason Lewis, together with House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka. 

While her focus has been on boosting funding, especially for districts with high concentrations of low-income students, the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE) was a strong voice advocating for reform measures to be paired with new funding. 

“I can speak for our members and for other folks who wanted to ensure that the bill was not just about funding — that we’re really pleased with the outcome,” said Ed Lambert, the organization’s executive director.  

The bill announced to great fanfare calls for an increase over seven years of $1.4 billion in state aid to local school districts. It would also require districts to prepare reports detailing how they plan to tackle the wide achievement gaps separating students across the state, setting firm targets for improvement. It also includes a $10 million fund to be used by the state education commissioner to fund innovative approaches being taken by districts. 

Lambert says he hopes there will still be room to take up improvements to the bill that strengthen the start it makes in focusing on college and career readiness. He said that would include considering a provision of the funding bill filed by Gov. Charlie Baker that called for funding early college programs that let high school students get exposure to higher education classrooms — and credits that count toward an eventual degree. 

On the funding side, the bill matches the call in the Promise Act for districts with the highest concentration of low-income students to get double the base “foundation budget” rate for each of those students. That is a huge win for Chang-Diaz, but she was in a magnanimous mood about other aspects of the bill, a sign that leading voices in the debate are looking to close the deal and pass a bill, not wage big fights over any remaining disagreements they may have. 

“Much that’s in the bill mirrors what was in the Promise Act,” she said. “But a lot of important stuff that’s in the bill was taken from the advocacy of MBAE, and some of the things were taken from the governor’s bill that were excellent ideas, and I’m thrilled to see them in there.” Chief among those, she said, is the $10 million fund for innovative practices; Baker’s bill proposed a similar fund with $50 million.

When the Promise Act was unveiled in January, Chang-Diaz sounded wary of putting any conditions on new funding, arguing that the debate was about “owed money” that the state had shortchanged districts on as the funding formula failed to keep pace with rising costs. But she minimized any concerns over the requirements for district improvement targets in the “Student Opportunity Act,” as the new bill was dubbed. 

The one key player who has been notably reserved in reacting to the bill is Baker, whose bill called for substantially less new state aid to districts — about $460 million versus the $1.4 billion being proposed. He offered a vague statement in response to the bill, but only days earlier penned an op-ed warning against going too far in increasing state aid. With both DeLeo and Spilka backing the bill, however, don’t look for any retreat on the bottom-line number as the legislation moves forward. 

Where does this leave Baker in the big debate? 

“I think you should invite him on,” said Chang-Diaz. “Only he can answer that question.” 

But Lambert pumped up the idea of Beacon Hill cooperation that Baker so often touts, and suggested everyone will be on board in the end. “I think at the end of the day,” he said, “all of the entities — the administration and the Legislature — will move toward the goal.”  

MICHAEL JONAS

BEACON HILL

A Globe editorial backs Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposal to expand the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and sell the Hynes Convention Center in the Back Bay.  

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

At Boston.gov, you don’t always get an answer when you ask a question. (CommonWealth)

The proposed sale of the Harriet Tubman House in Boston’s South End has divided black residents, some of whom insist on preserving the social service agency site run by United South End Settlements, while others support the sale to maintain the agency’s fiscal solvency. (Boston Herald) Columnist Joyce Ferriabough Bolling sides with selling the building. (Boston Herald) 

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

President Trump acknowledged on Sunday raising corruption accusations against former vice president Joe Biden with the president of Ukraine, as Democratic talk of impeachment mounted over allegations that the president pressured a foreign leader to help damage a political rival. (New York Times) Tufts professor Daniel Drezner says impeachment seems warranted and would also distract Trump from “further harming the national interest.” (Washington Post)

ELECTIONS

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has moved into the lead in a poll of likely Iowa caucusgoers, is emphasizing her humble Oklahoma roots, not Harvard pedigree, on the stump there. (Boston Globe) 

Sen. Ed Markey was welcomed by Democrats at a brunch in Newton one day after the local congressman, Joe Kennedy, announced his primary challenge to the veteran pol. (Boston Globe) 

After the Republican State Committee voted to condemn two Muslim Democratic congresswomen from other states, a move Gov. Charlie Baker disapproved of, Adrian Walker says the moderate GOP governor should declare that he’s had enough of a party that keeps moving further to the Trump right and become an independent. (Boston Globe)  

WGBH looks at the Boston City Council candidates lining up to replace Tim McCarthy, who got fed up with the job and advised his successor to develop a thick skin.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley headlined a Roxbury rally sponsored by the state Democratic Party urging residents to vote in tomorrow’s city municipal election for City Council. (Boston Globe)

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

The US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is predicting Massachusetts’ cranberry harvest to be a strong one. (Patriot Ledger) 

EDUCATION

In Cambridge, the innovation economy has become a K-12 classroom, according to David Maher of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce and Kenneth Salim, superintendent of the Cambridge schools. (CommonWealth)

Andrew O’Leary, New Bedford’s assistant superintendent of finance and operations, says the city could see a significant bump in aid from the state education funding reform bill that was unveiled last week. (Standard-Times) 

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

Most unvaccinated children just fall through the cracks and are not connected to the anti-vax movement, according to Nathaniel Fuchs and Lawrence S. DiCara. (CommonWealth)

ARTS/CULTURE

Leonard Kieley served as a tank commander for the US Army as it rolled across Europe during World War II, but he has survived to live to 100. (Salem News)

The Franklin Park Zoo’s 14-year-old white tiger, named Luther, has died. (WBUR)

TRANSPORTATION 

The MBTA isn’t alone. New York City’s transit authority is preparing to spend $7 billion upgrading 1930s signal technology. (New York Times)

Within around 200 meters of a highway, people are at heightened risk of exposure to ultrafine particulate, which comes out of tailpipes and can cause strokes and other cardiovascular problems. (WGBH)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Edward N. Krapels, the CEO of Anbaric, says the Vineyard Wind limbo is a chance for a reset in how offshore wind energy comes ashore. (CommonWealth)

Scientists for the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium and the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Center for Ocean Life say the Maine lobster industry is “significantly underestimating” the harm its equipment causes to whales. (Cape Cod Times) 

CASINOS/MARIJUANA

Casinos in the state are contending with a weakened interest among gamblers in slot machines. (Boston Globe) 

Steven Hoffman, chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, says the hardest part of his job is promoting equity among applicants for pot licenses. (MassLive)

Marijuana use among high school students in Massachusetts was on the decline before legalization took effect, but it’s unclear whether that will continue in the legal-pot era. (Boston Globe)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

The former chief of staff to Mayor Jasiel Correia II has been indicted on six federal charges including conspiring to commit extortion and bribery, according to court documents. (Herald News)