Massive spending for the November election has not yet begun in earnest.As of his Dec. 31 deadline, the first campaign finance filing deadline of this election cycle, the Massachusetts Teachers Association It reported spending about $500,000 on petition companies and another $600,000 in in-kind services provided by union officials to support the MCAS ballot question.
Meanwhile, the business community only established a voting committee in January, so it is unclear how much the opposition has spent so far. And we probably won't know until the next deadline is in September. But we know this: Many of the fighters in the ring for this fight include Jim Rooney, CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and Chris Anderson, CEO of the Massachusetts High Technology Council. They will be the same players who fought over the millionaire tax two years ago, including .
Consider a second round between these warring sides. Or it could be a third round, including the charter school issue that unions defeated in 2016.
The main similarity between 2022 and 2024 is that the business world is refraining from “economic competitiveness.” In 2022, Business advocates have abused the term, worried that many wealthy residents will head for the exits, taking their jobs and philanthropic funds with them. This time it has a different meaning. Removing MCAS standards as a diploma requirement would undermine one of the state's biggest selling points: its strong public education system, business leaders say. The system is considered critical to attracting and retaining talent and preparing the workforce for the future.
Motivated by the skills gap in the workforce, the business community was the driving force behind the 1993 Education Reform Act, primarily through the then-new Massachusetts Education Business Alliance. The reform law promoted continuous improvement strategies and ultimately injected funding into school districts while relying on MCAS to measure progress. MBAE co-founder Paul Reville, a Harvard education professor and former state education secretary, said teachers as a group were never big fans of MCAS, but students' test scores are used to evaluate teachers' performance. It became increasingly relevant, and opposition intensified about 10 years ago.
Ed Lambert, MBAE's current executive director, said eliminating the standardized testing requirement for degrees would create a “Western This could lead to a “dramatic scenario” that could undermine the state's competitiveness. Location for the past 20 years.
It's nonsense, says MTA Chairman Max Page. He argues that states already hold schools to high standards for teaching, with or without tests, and that teachers are in the best position to evaluate children's performance. Page called high-stakes tests a “blunt weapon” that undermines the education system, in part by driving out good teachers. Then narrow down the curriculum. He did not say how much money the union could ultimately invest, other than to say it was prepared to spend whatever it took to win.
Indeed, the MTA intends to spend whatever it takes in 2022, putting $11 million into the millionaire tax in the last six weeks of the campaign, on top of the $4 million it spent earlier this year. The National Education Association contributed millions more to help.
That being said, trends this year could still be very different. First, there is talk of a possible legislative compromise on the MCAS issue. It's hard to imagine what that would look like, but a Beacon Hill-brokered compromise — if it comes to fruition this spring — would cut the ballot question in its tracks.Billionaire taxes didn't make that happen. It was a constitutional amendment that required a statewide vote.
Perhaps this time, hopes for a compromise in Congress may have held back early spending. But once Lambert, Rooney, Anderson, and their ilk start shaking trees for donations, the optics will be better than they were in 2022. Donations to this fight will look more like gifts with the purpose of helping children, rather than anything else. Several It could be portrayed as a self-interested move to avoid higher income taxes.
Another variable that wasn't there last time was the high-profile teachers' strike in Newton that lasted 11 days and aroused sympathy and sparked criticism. It remains to be seen how much that public reaction will carry over into this voting contest.
Then there's the issue of grassroots support. Teachers unions could receive ample funding in 2022 thanks to a billionaire tax push by Wake Up Massachusetts, a coalition of community, religious, and labor groups. Mr Page said he hopes parents will support the teachers' cause this time. A frustrated Lexington mother had begun working on a similar question on her MCAS ballot before joining the MTA.
There are many parents lined up on the other side. National Parent Union President Keri Rodriguez, a former labor organizer who lives in Woburn, said her group is based in 22 cities and towns in Massachusetts and has reached out to more than 250,000 families to vote against the union's MCAS issue. He says he can deliver the message he sends. She said her group will leverage its network to protect tests that ensure all public school students are taught the skills they need to thrive, no matter where they live. said. Alert adults who oversee schools that there are gaps that need to be addressed.
Without legislative compromise, the MCAS issue could easily escalate into another big-budget voting battle. It remains unclear how much money each side intends to spend, especially since neither wants to talk about specific numbers. According to the latest public information available, the Massachusetts Teachers Union had $16 million in cash as of June 30, 2022, which is more than millions of dollars donated to the billionaire's tax purposes. This is the amount before. Even if a national organization does not emerge this time, Page has made it clear that his union is prepared to spend big on the fight.
Will the teachers’ unions end up ripping off the suits again? It's difficult to know. A Massachusetts Amherst school poll last fall showed about 50 percent approved of the MCAS issue, 30 percent opposed and 20 percent undecided. That makes the race a hotly contested one for political forecasters. But one thing is for sure: victory doesn't come cheap.
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com.follow him @jonchesto.
