Jan 18, 2019, Lynn (MA) Daily Item: (Op Ed) TIME FOR SCHOOL SPENDING FORMULA UPDATE https://www.itemlive.com/2019/01/18/time-for-school-spending-formula-update/ Much has changed since 1993 and the days of renting videos from a store, using a landline and smoking with impunity. What hasn’t changed in almost 26 years is a state funding formula for education that public school officials insist — in fact, demand — gets upgraded. Part of the state’s landmark Education Reform Act that included student testing reform, the “foundation budget formula” represents a state estimate of the minimum amount of money needed in each school district across the state to provide students with an education. Education reform through comprehensive testing has been in place for decades but the formula became obsolete years ago. The foundation budget for special education spending in Lynn, according to calculations by the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, is $17.8 million, but Lynn spends $31.5 million on special education, leaving the city with a $13.7 million gap to cover with city spending. The gap between the foundation budget for health insurance spending locally is even wider with the city spending $38.4 million but only receiving a $17.7 million foundation budget. Lynn School Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler did not sound like he was overstating the case when he underscored “the desperate need” on behalf of the state Legislature to update the formula….
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.