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LEGISLATURE FINALIZES BUDGET
WITH $33.35 MILLION FOR ADULT EDUCATION
Earlier today, the Massachusetts Legislature approved the Commonwealth's budget for the current fiscal year. After weeks of negotiations, Senators and Representatives agreed to allocate $33.35 million to adult education in FY 2019, a $3.72 million increase over what they provided last year. The increase represents the single largest one year gain in funding since at least FY 2007 and, by extension, a sizable step toward reversing the long-term decline in the real value of state resources for ABE.
Sadly, though, not all of the news associated with the budget is positive. In the end, the members of the conference committee chose to leave out key protections for immigrants championed by the MIRA Coalition and supported by MCAE. You can read MIRA's statement on the failure to enact these protections here.
Thank You Calls to Legislative Leaders
Though the budget ultimately passed with overwhelming support, Senator Karen Spilka and R
epresentative Jeffrey Sanchez, the chairs of Joint Committee on Ways and Means, as well as Senator Jamie Eldridge and Representative Bob Koczera, deserve particular recognition for their leadership on behalf of adult education throughout this year's budget process.
So, please take a moment by the end of this week to thank them - and your own Representative or Senator - for their support of adult students and educators. You can find your elected officials
here, while the phone numbers for Senators Spilka and Eldridge and for Representatives Sanchez and Koczera are listed below.
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Senator Karen Spilka (D-Ashland)
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617-722-1640
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Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton)
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617-722-1120
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Representative Jeffrey Sanchez (D-Jamaica Plain)
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617-722-2990
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Representative Bob Koczera (D-New Bedford)
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617-722-2582
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There's one other set of people that deserves credit for the renewed investment in ABE in Massachusetts: all of you. Your repeated contact with your elected officials made an incredible difference - the increase in ABE funding in this year's budget is a powerful testament to what can be achieved through collective and sustained advocacy. Without a doubt, it can be hard to find time to reach out to policymakers and make your views known, but your colleagues and your students are glad you did. Thank you!
MCAE Summer Membership Luncheons
With the summer now in full swing, nothing beats a picnic lunch at the beach. Nothing, that is, except for lunch with MCAE!
From August 16 through 30, we'll be holding luncheons at 5 separate locations around Massachusetts. So, join us and your colleagues from neighboring adult education programs for a thoughtful discussion of the challenges confronting adult students and educators here in the Commonwealth and the ways we could partner to begin to meet them.
Simply click on the location you wish to attend to begin the registration process.
All luncheons will be held from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. Registration is free of charge; however, as space in each location is limited, we ask that only one person per program attend.
MCAE Conference Committee
Each year, MCAE's NETWORK Conference brings together over 500 adult education professionals from across Massachusetts for a day of innovation and inspiration. NETWORK'S success is due in no small part to MCAE's Conference Committee, which, in conjunction with MCAE staff and consultants, plans and executes the event.
Members of the Committee help to determine workshop priorities, solicit and review workshop proposals, and coordinate the myriad logistics that make NETWORK run smoothly and efficiently. In the run-up to the conference, members are asked to participate in regular conference calls and, if needed, to staff registration tables or to facilitate workshops once the day arrives.
If you or someone you know would be interested in joining the Committee, please email MCAE's Director, Jeff McLynch, at [email protected] by Monday, August 13.
NETWORK 2019 will be held on Friday, May 10 at the Best Western Royal Plaza in Marlborough and we expect to get to work before the summer is out!
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NEXT MCAE PUBLIC POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING
August 17, 2018
10 a.m. to 12 noon
World Education
44 Farnsworth St
Boston, MA
For those unable to attend in person, this month's meeting
is accessible via
conference call.
Please contact Jeff McLynch at 617-482-6223 to RSVP
and to obtain the necessary
call-in information.
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