Keller @ Large: National Parents Union president slams Brockton schools' "fiscal mismanagement"
BOSTON – The president of the National Parents Union called Brockton's decision to lay off 130 public school teachers "absolutely wild" and said the city should be answering questions around fiscal mismanagement.
National Parents Union president Keri Rodrigues, who founded Massachusetts Parents United in 2016, joined WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller.
Rodrigues said when Massachusetts received $1.8 billion in federal education funding to help districts close learning gaps caused during the COVID pandemic, Brockton received $50 million.
Despite the funding, the city was forced to make layoffs. Superintendent Michael Thomas said the district has lost nearly 1,350 students in the last three years.
"They were supposed to create a 3-year plan to overcome the achievement gap as a part of getting that additional funding drawn down to the district. So we have this influx of money, unprecedented amounts of money, and we're not even at the fiscal cliff yet," Rodrigues said, referring to when the influx of funding dries up. "So how can you tell us that you don't have enough money, that you've got to lay off 130 teachers? If I was a parent in Brockton, if I was a taxpayer in Brockton, if I was the mayor of Brockton, I would be asking some very serious questions around fiscal mismanagement, what's going on there."
Keller @ Large: Part 2