This year had the potential to be the year to undo the many years of neglect Massachusetts early childhood education and Massachusetts children endured under the Romney administration.
Governor Patrick made great strides and was prepared to undo the damage his predecessor inflicted upon our communities. This damage was so bad, that many towns have been forced to actually cut back on preschool and kindergarten program despite the overwhelming evidence of its economic benefits.
Unfortunately, our representative have filed more than 1,500 different to this year’s budget and the six key amendments that would support out children run the risk of getting lost in the shuffle. The six key admendments impacting our children are:
- Amendment #1478 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Haddad) – Universal Pre-Kindergarten
- Amendment #543 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Kane) – Head Start
- Amendment #1283 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Cabral) – Full-Day Kindergarten
- Amendment #779 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Wolf) – Early Educators Scholarship
- Amendment #1355 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Story) – Professional Development
- Amendment #318 (Lead sponsor: Rep. Binienda) – Rate Reserve
We recognize that taxpayers - particular in times of economic downturns hate to invest in the future. The Early Educators Scholarship and Professional Development admendments are clear investments in the future of our ability to sustain early childhood education. However, the other admendments directly impact on our children now. Speaker DiMasi has specifically targeted our children for cuts because he repeatedly demonstates that fails to understand the human and economic benefits of early childhood education.
Take action now. Contact your representatives here. You don’t need to know their addresses or even names - the website will direct your message for you.
But take one more step. Call Speaker DiMasi at 617 722-2500 or e-mail him at
Rep.SalvatoreDiMasi@Hou.State.MA.US and insist that he invest in our children and focus his cutting on the 100+ admendments that only benefit a tiny percentage of individuals in the short term.