EASTHAMPTON – The Democratic City Committee will host a forum Wednesday to discuss public education and the impact charter and school choice funding mechanisms have on local schools.
“Our Public Schools” is set for Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Community Room at Eastworks. Residents of Easthampton and nearby communities are invited to attend.
The featured speaker will be Barbara Madeloni, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. City officials and teachers will also speak in support of public education, according to Laurie Garcia, chairwoman of the Easthampton Democrats.
Among the topics planned for the meeting are a discussion of the history of public education in Massachusetts, how reduced education funding affects cities and towns and the possible effects of a proposed ballot question to raise the charter school cap.
“We decided to sponsor this forum because we feel it’s crucial to educate the residents of Easthampton about the funding formula for charter schools,” Garcia said. “We’d love for people from surrounding communities to come so they can hold their own forums.”
Easthampton in the current fiscal year is paying $1.8 million for resident children who are educated at out-of-district schools.
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com.