MORE ARTICLES

Stay Connected!

Receive the latest updates in your inbox.

LATEST ARTICLES

The Teachers Union Meets the Market

/2 Comments/in , , /by

There’s an interesting experiment going on in Boston right now — the Boston Teachers’ Union is starting a pilot school next year and is working, hard, to attract students. (Let’s not talk about the cynical process that lead to the expansion of pilots in Boston, ok?) They are facing the challenges of a start-up school. With just a building and two lead teachers (its version of a principal, I believe) in place, how do you get parents interested and committed? They are taking an interesting approach, attempting to start next year with K1, K2, Grade 1, Grade 2, and two Grade 6 classes. Why two Grade 6 classes? My hunch is that the BTU knows that there is big overhang […]

16 Years Later, Merger Savings Realized!

/0 Comments/in , , /by

As we contemplate a major shake-up of our transportation system in order to capture efficiencies, it’s worth pondering some cautionary tales from state government. Today’s Herald brings news that the State Police are considering the consolidation of barracks, particularly in the Boston area (a region with barracks in Government Center, Boston, Brighton, and South Boston, as well as Milton and Framingham a bit further out.). This duplication is due in part to the merger of the MDC police with the State Police in 1992. The state police union is implacably opposed (I’m not shocked), but I’d note that many of these barracks are in absolutely shameful physical condition. But the larger lesson is: realizing even obvious efficiencies in state government […]

The Governor's choice on charter schools

/1 Comment/in , /by

The Governor’s proposal on charter schools does two things: It increases the cap on commonwealth charter schools for a single year in districts falling in the state’s lowest performing districts, and it changes the funding formula in a way that puts equitable funding for charters at risk. The proposal ostensibly creates 4500 new charter seats, but stipulates a range of sub-groups that must make up 80 percent of the charter student body, including low-income, limited English proficient or special education students, or students determined to be at risk of dropping out. In addition, LEP and SPED enrollments in each new charter must exceed the sending district’s average by 5%. The one-year limit on the time to create any new charter […]

Additional Assistance is Gone?

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The Governor’s Budget was released today (well, some of it anyway, it’s four hours after the formal release and none of the companion bills are available yet). One really surprising finding was the elimination of Additional Assistance, a roughly $380 million piece of local aid. To see who gets what currently from this line item, look here. In principle, this is a good idea. Additional Assistance stands out among a variety of local aid programs as having almost no rationale for the distribution of aid (unlike lottery and chapter 70 education aid). But as a practical matter, it’s a pretty big pill for certain municipalities, like Boston ($164 million of a $2.1 billion budget), to swallow, particularly in a single […]

Great Moments in Public Management, Pt. MCMLXVII

/0 Comments/in , , /by

New York’s Inspector General has released a scathing report on the former state health commissioner (and former Surgeon General) Antonia Novello that details her rampant abuse of state automobiles and employees. She used them to ferry her on various shopping expeditions, run numerous personal errands, and perform household tasks. My favorite comment from a former employee, as pointed out by the New York Times: Novello’s fondness for shopping was so well known that employees in the office would give her sales fliers or coupons to encourage her to leave the office so that they would not have to work late