Lesser conducts Town Hall in Springfield

Sept. 27, 2017 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

Sen. Eric Lesser conducted a Town Hall meeting at the Greenleaf Community Center in Springfield. Reminder Publications photo by G. Michael Dobbs



SPRINGFIELD – Residents at a Town Hall meeting hosted by state Sen. Eric Lesser raised issues ranging from education to one of Lesser’s signatures concerns, high speed rail linking Springfield to Boston.

Lesser vowed that he would enter the legislation annually that would authorize a study of the transportation issue until it was approved.

About 50 people attended the event at the Greenleaf Community Center on Sept. 25. The Springfield event was the last of series of such meeting hosted by Lesser around his district.

Karen Lee, representing the grassroots group Our Revolution, asked the senator about supporting legislation that would fund student loan debt in the Commonwealth, a figure that she said stood at $24 billion. The funding would be raised through a tax of endowments more than a certain size. She asked of existing legislation being considered could be used for that reason.

Lesser, who has been advocating for the bill that would establish a “Student Loan Borrower’s Bill of Rights,” said there is a bill that would put a 1.5 percent levy on endowments more than a $1 billion which has been designated to assist the state’s network of community colleges. He was not sure of the legislation would cover student loan debt. He expressed interest in supporting legislation that would address student loan debt.

The former president of the Springfield Education Association, Timothy Collins, said the public education system is facing two major problem: accountability issues that cast teachers in the light of not doing their jobs successfully and inadequate funding of schools from the Commonwealth. He called standardized tests such as MCAS as “crooked yardsticks” by which to measure student accomplishment.

“We putting value on the test and not putting value on the growth,” he said.

Lesser replied the state is facing dwindling revenues and local communities are seeing tighter budgets, both of which are contributing to the educational funding problem. He praised the Empowerment Zone effort in Springfield – in which middle schools and the High School of Commerce have far more freedom to craft policies and curriculum to meet the needs of their students – as having “the potential as a beacon for the nation.”

The senator did readily admit though, it is still far too soon to have the data necessarily to see of the approach is working as it was intended. He said anecdotal evidence has given him “ a renewed sense of optimism.”

City Council candidate and attorney Timothy Ryan told Lesser how his son, a teacher in the Springfield public schools, had students who couldn’t read or write English but yet were administered the MCAS. “The Empowerment Zone has yet to measure this fundamental flaw,” Ryan said.

Lesser said the Legislature is working on measures that would establish means to measure student growth. “I agree,” he added, “The MCAS standardized test is not working any more.”

Resident who identified herself as a Springfield teacher asked lesser to support legislation that would put a teacher on the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Lesser said he was “confused and surprised” to learn no teacher is on the board and would support legislation that would add one.

“It’s a rational, common sense thing to do,” he added.

Linda O’Connell of the Massachusetts league of Women Voters asked the senator if he supported a single payer health plan.

Lesser said there are several different bills concerning single payer in the General Court, but lesser added that while Massachusetts has a high quality of health care and has provided access to health insurance – 98 percent of the population have coverage – the costs are “completely out of control.”

He said means of controlling costs is vital to establishing a single payer system.

Springfield City Councilor Kateri Walsh asked Lesser about the current status of the legislation to authorize a study of eat-west rail.

He said the bill is on the transportation Committee and has “broad support.” He stressed his belief east-west rail is an economic development issue and noted that tax dollars from Western Massachusetts funded the Big Dig and a portion of the sales tax goes directly to the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority.

Tracy Whitfield, a candidate for Springfield City Council, asked Lesser is the state is considering any new models of action to decrease gun violence.

Lesser noted he recently pet with students from Putnam Vocational-Technical Academy about the subject. He said that while Massachusetts has among the strictest gun laws in the country law enforcement can not prevent someone from buying a gun in Vermont and bringing it here.  He said there must be assistance from the federal government.

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