Measure and Hold Accountable
View from the Hill
April 14, 2008
Congratulations are in order! The Executive Office of Education Quality and Accountability (the EQA) found the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District to be a "Very High" performer in its 2007 examination of the system.
According to EQA Executive Director Joseph B. Rappa, GDRSD is a district marked by "Very High" achievement in both English language arts (ELA) and mathematics: 86% of the tested students scored at or above the "Proficient" level in ELA and 77% in math on the 2007 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS).
However, high MCAS scores are just part of the picture. EQA also studied the district along six standards of educational management: (A) leadership, governance and communication; (B) curriculum and instruction; (C) assessment and evaluation; (D) human resource management and professional development; (E) access, participation and student academic support; and (F) financial asset management effectiveness and efficiency.
Results like these are no accident. They require years of work, close attention and financial sacrifice by teachers, administrators, school committee members, parents and students.
Speaking of financial sacrifice, as the legislature moves toward setting the state´s budget for the next year, it is worth considering what has been asked of tax payers like you and me. Despite worries over budget shortfalls publicly projected by the legislative leadership, the state currently holds a whopping $2.2 billion in its rainy day fund, and actual revenue received through March of the current fiscal year is $772 million above the $19.825 billion originally budgeted for the year.
There are two paths to a budget shortfall. A precipitous drop in revenue is one of them, but we aren´t seeing that. The other possibility is mismanaged spending. Reasonable people may differ regarding which items are necessary versus merely nice to have. However, with fiscal year 2009 forecast to supply record revenue, it is ludicrous to suggest that the state is short of funds. Why should taxpayers dig deeper into their wallets unless Beacon Hill shows that their money is well spent?
That logic was not lost on the House, which adopted a resolution safeguarding aid for cities and towns. The Republican minority had proposed the local aid schedule for all municipalities rather than push for project-by-project budget amendments. This departure from business as usual is sure to simplify the budget scramble by taking hundreds of local earmarks off of the table. More importantly, local aid allows cities and towns to spend the aid money as they see fit, rather than as the legislature might decide. The resolution also provides firm aid figures to local financial planners now, in time to prepare for Town and City Council Meetings and potential Proposition 2½ override elections.
As U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen (1896–1969) famously said, "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you´re talking about real money." A generation ago, this statement could be contemplated only at the federal level. It´s now commonplace in the states, Massachusetts among them. Please keep an eye on the budget process. It´s your money.
