Tom Weber
Undersecretary of Education, Executive Office of Education
First, thanks for the kind reception for our first installment of This Week @MassEducation – loved the retweets, folks!
Lt. Governor Murray delivered some end-of week good news today: the Administration’s FY13 budget recommendation will include a $145 million increase for K-12 education for a total investment of $4.1 billion, the highest level of funding in state history. This continues the Patrick-Murray Administration’s unbroken streak of annual increases and record funding for K-12 education despite budget challenges. The Lt. Governor also announced proposed FY13 funding for the Special Education Circuit Breaker and Charter School Reimbursement of $213 million and $71.5 million, respectively. More on the proposed FY13 budget below.
Looking ahead, what a week! Here are some highlights:
On Monday night, Secretary Reville will attend Governor Patrick’s State of the Commonwealth Address, an annual effort to lay out the Administration’s priorities for the year ahead. Stay tuned for some exciting education news, pre-k through higher education. No hints – you’ll have to read it yourself. The full text of the Governor’s speech should be available on the his website sometime after 8:00 p.m. on Monday, so check it out. You can also tune into your local news station to watch the speech live at 7:30 p.m.
On Tuesday, Secretary Reville will be splitting time between the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and a Special Meeting of the Board of Higher Education (BHE). Among other things, BESE members will discuss the next generation of student assessments and receive an update on Level 5 Planning in the Lawrence Public Schools. Meanwhile, the BHE agenda includes Mass Maritime Academy’s Five Year Special Mission Renewal Plan and the interview of Cape Cod Community College’s potential new president.
Governor Patrick will release his entire FY13 budget recommendation on Wednesday. If you want to roll up your sleeves and dive in, the budget should be online around noontime on the Mass.gov budget site. That afternoon, Secretary Reville will be visiting the Atlantic Middle School in Quincy to participate in “No Name Calling Day” to promote anti-bullying awareness. Governor Patrick and Commissioner Chester will also be participating in a similar events in Salem and Weymouth that day.
Rounding out the week @MassEducation, Secretary Reville will attend the Governor’s Cabinet Meeting on Friday before speaking at an educator conference about U.S.-China school exchanges hosted at Boston University.
Follow EOE’s progress throughout the week on Twitter @MassEducation.
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