I am writing as the president of the Greenfield Education Association to express our deep concern and disappointment over the recent proposal by Mayor Roxann Wedegartner to implement across-the-board cuts to our city’s education budget [“Greenfield mayor’s proposed $61.6M budget curtails school funding,” Recorder, April 3].
A budget is a moral document: It reflects the priorities and values of the community. Underfunding Greenfield Public Schools, as proposed by Mayor Wedegartner, signals that high-quality public education is not a priority in Greenfield.
This proposal, if enacted and approved by the City Council, would severely undermine the fair contract we recently negotiated with the city.
The contract we recently settled on was a hard-won victory for our educators, students and community after our members were working under expired contracts. It is a fair and equitable agreement that ensures our educators have the resources and support needed to provide the best education possible for the students of Greenfield.
However, Mayor Wedegartner’s proposed cuts would not only undo the progress made during our negotiations but, more importantly, would create an environment of uncertainty and instability in our public schools. It would jeopardize the quality of education our Greenfield students receive.
Underfunding the budget of Greenfield Public Schools would lead to larger class sizes, fewer resources, diminished extracurricular activities, and a decreased overall quality of education. This would disproportionately affect students from low-income families and those with special needs.
The mayor’s proposed budget cuts would exacerbate existing disparities, further harming our schools and students.
According to the state Department of Education, Greenfield Public Schools belongs to a list of comparable districts based on demographics, finances, student test scores, and other factors. However, a striking difference between these districts and Greenfield is how much less teachers here are paid.
In fact, among comparable districts, Greenfield has the lowest top salary for teachers, with an average disparity of $10,464 less. This disparity doesn’t just affect teachers during their careers, but it also impacts their pensions as they are based on their highest three years of salary.
Indeed, comparing Greenfield teacher salaries with nearby Frontier Regional Schools, where many Greenfield families send their children, reveals a similar pay gap: a Greenfield teacher with a master’s degree earns $6,551 less in base pay than their Frontier counterpart, while those with a doctorate face a $8,846 pay gap.
So even if a teacher chooses to start their career here in Greenfield, it begs the question: Why would they stay?
The sad fact is that many do not.
This disparity contributes to Greenfield’s significant teacher turnover problem. Of the 180 teachers employed in the district in the fall of 2021, only 124 remained by the fall of 2022 — an annual turnover rate of over 30%.
The problem is even worse among our essential instructional assistants, who are assigned to work with our most vulnerable students on a one-to-one basis.
Of the 90 instructional assistants employed in the district in the fall of 2021, only 45 remained by the fall of 2022 — an alarming annual turnover rate of 50%. Indeed, the disruption to Greenfield students’ lives due to inadequate pay is incalculable.
As we’ve seen over the last few years, it’s already been difficult to fill open instruction assistant positions because current wages have not competitively compensated staff for the expertise and commitment the role requires. With proposed cuts on the horizon, more instruction assistants will leave their jobs and it will be our students who are most impacted.
If Greenfield Public Schools cannot hire and retain enough instruction assistants, the district may not be able to fulfill legally mandated requirements as part of individual education plans.
We urge Mayor Wedegartner to reconsider this proposal and collaborate with the Greenfield Education Association and other community stakeholders to find alternative solutions that prioritize the high quality public education that all Greenfield students deserve.
We call on Greenfield residents to voice their concerns to the City Council and Mayor Wedegartner’s office. Together, we can protect our public schools, our educators, and most importantly, our students.
Ann Valentine is president of the Greenfield Education Association.