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SENATE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE
TAKES MAJOR STEP BACK
IN FUNDING ADULT EDUCATION IN FY 2019
On Thursday, the Senate Ways & Means Committee (SW&M) put forward its version of the Commonwealth's budget for FY 2019. The Committee
recommends spending $31 million for adult basic education (ABE) in the coming year. While this amount represents an increase from current funding levels and is higher than the figure backed by Governor Baker,
it is substantially below the level included in the version of the budget approved by the House of Representatives just last month.
I
n particular, the House's version of the budget would appropriate $32.73 million for ABE in FY 2019 - or $1.73 million more than the amount the Senate Ways & Means Committee now recommends. As a result, far fewer adult students would be able to get the education they need next year if the SW&M version of the budget became law rather than the House's.
You can help make certain that the Legislature continues to head in the right direction in funding adult education.
When the full Massachusetts Senate considers the FY 2019 budget in two weeks,
Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) will offer an amendment to bring ABE appropriations to $34.5 million.
This higher level of funding would enable programs to enroll even more students, to reach under-served communities, to advance curriculum development, and to improve working conditions for dedicated instructors, advisors, and counselors. To learn more about MCAE's FY 2019 budget request of $34.5 million, please click here.
So, please, call your State Senator as soon as possible and urge him or her to:
- Sign on as a cosponsor to the Eldridge Amendment to increase funding for ABE;
- Advocate for the Eldridge ABE Amendment in their conversations with their colleagues and with Senate leadership, and;
- Vote for the Eldridge ABE Amendment when the full Senate debates the FY 2019 budget the week of May 21.
Don't put your calls off! Senators have only a limited time during which to sign on as cosponsors and - if this amendment is to pass - we need to build a strong base of support for it NOW.
To find your State Senator and his or her phone number, click here.
You may only be able to reach an aide to your Senator, but you should still make your request to them, as they serve as your legislator's "eyes and ears".
After you call your State Senator, please take a moment and contact Jeff McLynch, MCAE's Director, at either 617-482-6223 or [email protected] to let him know who you called and how it went.
Please - make your calls today! We've made great progress on behalf of adult education already this year, but we need to keep the momentum going!
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Help Enact Critical Protections for Immigrants
While the Legislature has failed to take up the Safe Communities Act this session, the Senate budget debate offers another opportunity to put
desperately needed protections for immigrants into
law
here in Massachusetts. In the coming days, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) will be working with leading Senators to introduce vital pro-immigrant budget amendments, such as prohibiting police inquires about immigration status, preventing local law enforcement from acting as federal immigration agents, or maintaining basic due process protections.
You can help generate support for these amendments by taking part in one of four phone banks, sponsored by the ACLU, over the course of the next two weeks. Those phone banks will be held at the ACLU's Boston office at 211 Congress Street (4th floor) as follows:
Thursday, May 17th: 11:00am-2:00pm
Thursday, May 17th: 6:30pm-9:00pm
Tuesday, May 22nd: 6:30pm-9:00pm
Wednesday, May 23rd: 11:00am-2:00pm
To sign up for a phone bank, click here.
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NEXT MCAE PUBLIC POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING
MAY 18, 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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