By CHRIS COLLINS
President Trump’s threat to cut funding for school districts which don’t fully open for classes in the fall did not fall on deaf ears in Western Mass. One person who heard the threat loud and clear is Greenfield School Committee Chair Amy Proietti, who says Trump’s threat is largely baseless for one big reason.
“We don’t get our funding from the federal government, it comes from the state,” Proietti said. “And the states, including Massachusetts, are in a real pickle when it comes to school funding…it’s not going to be easy for anyone.”
That’s especially true in Greenfield, which had to do away with 47 positions just to bring its budget in line with the amounts approved by the city council this past spring.
State education officials recently released a series of safety guidelines for the fall reopening of Massachusetts schools which include allowing for the option of remote learning, which federal officials say should not be an option this year. Proietti said Greenfield is still developing its reopening plan, but Superintendent Jordana Harper has previously indicated that remote learning will likely be part of the equation.