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Massachusetts Governor Wants Reward for Top-Scoring High Schoolers

Ohanian Comment: And who benefits when the top 25% test scorers receive a free college education? Rich folk or poor folk? Why not make these scholarships needs based?

On one side is a $1 billion educational heavyweight: a 10-year expansion of preschool for all Massachusetts children ages 3, 4, and 5, proposed by Democratic House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran. On the other is a multimillion-dollar package of big-ticket items for school districts and their students, including free tuition to public universities for top-scoring high schoolers, pushed by Republican Governor Mitt Romney.

The politics is clear. Both Romney and Finneran are appealing to parents struggling with child care and college costs. What is less clear is what route Massachusetts should take in an era of scant resources -- invest in the Commonwealth's youngest citizens through early-childhood education, or support its older youths with scholarships to entice them into higher education?

"It's like saying, does your youngest child or oldest child need more?" said Andrew Effrat, dean of the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "It's one of those terrible choices to have to make when the needs are so great across the system. . . . These are savvy folks, so they must be hearing their constituencies and realize public education has taken a big hit on the way down, and they should start to rebuild that."

Legislative leaders will confront competing proposals on both ends of the educational spectrum as the fiscal 2005 budget season kicks off. Romney will unveil his budget Jan. 28 and vows to increase K-12 education spending by at least $100 million over this year -- although critics point out it does not restore $250 million in cuts made between this year and last, some of which were proposed by Romney, some by the Legislature. Finneran and Senate President Robert E. Travaglini will put forward their budget recommendations later.

Many school superintendents predict budget woes this year if expenses continue to rise and other sources of aid stay flat. But the burst of education spending proposals after three years of trimmed school budgets seemed to surprise many.

Last week, Romney outlined a host of new education spending ideas, including $12 million for the first year of John and Abigail Adams Scholarships. The initiative would give students whose MCAS scores rank in the top 25 percent statewide a four-year, tuition-free ride to state colleges, universities, or community colleges. Those in the top 10 percent would get the tuition break as well as a $2,000 stipend for fees.

In addition, Finneran earlier this month backed a 10-year, $1 billion plan to phase in free preschool for the state's 240,000 children ages 3, 4, and 5 years old. A coalition called Early Education for All is promoting legislation that would begin the initiative with pilot programs. Finneran said in an interview last week that he would write his own bill adapted from the coalition's.

On whether the Legislature would accept Romney's education package, the speaker said: "It's premature to judge or guess whether elements of the governor's proposal . . . will get through. On a generalized basis, I think there are some things to be drawn to."

Neil Sullivan, executive director of the Boston Private Industry Council, said each proposal centered on key constituencies: the middle-class, suburban voters who elected Romney and fret over high college costs, and urban, working voters whom Finneran represents in his Mattapan district who struggle to find affordable child care.

"You need multi-class appeal if you're going to spend public money. That's the politics," Sullivan said. "It's also good policy because frankly, it's not K-12 anymore. We talked about education reform being K-12 education reform -- the next phase starts before `K' and lasts after 12."

Elizabeth Sherman, research fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, added a third constituency: the business community, which backed Massachusetts's landmark Education Reform Act 10 years ago and wants to grow a qualified labor force.

Romney "is focusing on education because it relates to the business community in Massachusetts and also relates to voters," Sherman said. "Finneran is very closely connected to both of those mandates. . . . This guy is focused on education. Why? Because he listens to the business community."

While disagreeing on which path the state should take, many education specialists cheered the fact that education spending snagged a high priority after being cut in recent years. A landmark lawsuit alleging that Massachusetts underfinances its public schools wrapped up testimony Friday in Suffolk Superior Court, and written closing arguments will be submitted by Feb. 13.

Norma Shapiro, president of the Council for Fair School Finance, which brought the suit by families from 19 towns, argued that more money should go to early-childhood programs than to scholarships.

"I would say that you begin with the little kids," Shapiro said. "I do understand how important it is to make sure that kids feel that they have access to higher education, and I understand why the governor would want to do that. But I also think if you want to look at the impact of your dollars, you need to look at high-quality early-childhood education."

Right now, the state and federal governments pay $300 million for preschool in Massachusetts; the Early Education for All proposal would spend $1 billion over 10 years to create the classes, and then $1 billion annually after that to maintain them. Essentially, 3- and 4-year-olds could attend free, voluntary half-day programs at licensed public and private preschools, community centers, or day-care centers. Five-year-olds could attend full-day kindergarten across the state. All providers would have to meet state standards.

Romney's scholarship program would be entirely merit-based, with four-year scholarships to public colleges and universities going to students whose MCAS scores place them in the top 25 percent statewide. This year, tuition at the UMass-Amherst is $857 a semester, while fees are $3,634. Students would have to maintain good grades to keep the scholarships.

Joseph M. Cronin, dean of the School of Education at Lesley University, said Romney's scholarships -- which he said would favor students from affluent suburbs who score high on MCAS -- instead should be targeted to needier students who improve their MCAS scores.

"You target the 20 lowest-achieving cities who need all the incentives in the world," said Cronin, former secretary of education under Governor Frank W. Sargent. "Otherwise this is going to destroy the last 50 years of giving scholarships based on equity and need."

Along with the scholarships and $44 million in other K-12 initiatives, Romney will propose increasing funding for the state's school-financing formula, Chapter 70, by $70 million. It currently is about $3.1 billion. Romney's press secretary, Shawn Feddeman, said the governor "looks forward to reviewing" Finneran's preschool plan. "Early education is certainly an important piece of the puzzle. But what's great about Governor Romney's plan is that it is extremely comprehensive in scope," Feddeman said. "It covers primary and secondary education as well as higher education."

But State Representative Marie P. St. Fleur, the Dorchester Democrat who chairs the Legislature's joint education commmittee, said Romney is proposing some of the very things he vetoed last year, such as full-day kindergarten grants. The Legislature restored the money. "I'm glad he's finally embracing the things the House has been doing now for years," St. Fleur said.



— Anand Vaishnav
Preschool vs. college needs eyed
Boston Globe
2004-01-18
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/01/18/preschool_vs_college_needs_eyed/

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