Education Reform in Massachusetts - building new schools

The City of Newton Massachusetts is taking ample flak over the $197.5 million price tag for the new high school it's in the process of building. Given that seemingly exorbitant amount, Newton is an easy target. But is Newton being unfairly attacked?

Consider the story in the Boston Globe's ''Globe West" section this past Sunday June 22nd by Rachana Rathi. The new Newton North High School will house nearly 20% more students than Wellesley's $159 million new high school and nearly 72% more than Norwood's $100 million one. The new Newton North also includes features that are not part of the Wellesley or Norwood project such as a pool, theater and vocational education facilities. THESE ARE NOT LUXURY AMENITIES HOWEVER, BUT INSTEAD ARE SIMPLY REPLACING FACILITIES ALREADY PART OF THE EXISTING, DILAPIDATED HIGH SCHOOL IN NEWTON! And looking at the cost per square foot of the three projects, they seem to be fairly close.

Nonetheless, the media and even some public officials like Massachusetts Treasurer Tim Cahill have been calling the Newton North project "extravagant" with a "deluxe design" and comparable to a "Taj Mahal." Cahill has even gone so far to imply that municipalities building new high schools school should focus solely on "core academic" space and not include space for the arts, physical education and community events .

Indeed, Cahill's quotes in this past Sunday's Globe article make him sound like a dictatorial socialist. Cahill rejects the notion of the state giving each community a certain capped amount and then letting that community decide for itself if it wants to spend its own additional money on other features. As he puts it: "just because you have the money doesn't mean you should be allowed to do it. One community should not be able to provide better opportunities for kids versus another community just because they have the money."

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has set aside $2.5 billion in a school building fund, but Tim Cahill as state treasurer has substantial control over disbursements from that fund. This gives rise to a few questions. Mr. Cahill, is it your intent not to provide any state funds for projects unless they meet some bare bones, cookie cutter design approved by you? How does that reflect educational innovation and the different needs and goals of the diverse communities in the Commonwealth? How is that democratic? Have you no sense of the "town meeting" heritage of Massachusetts?