Contacts: Susan Kustka, Superintendent, Co-President Tri-County Superintendents Roundtable
Emily Parks, Executive Director, The Education Cooperative (TEC)

On Thursday, March 28, 2024, more than 100 state legislators, school district leaders, and
school committee members met at the Norwood Senior Center to discuss current challenges
and priorities for Massachusetts public schools. The event, co-sponsored by the M.A.S.S. Tri-
County Superintendents Roundtable and The Education Cooperative (TEC), is an annual
opportunity for district leaders and their legislative delegations to engage in important dialogue
during the development of the state’s annual budget.

The Tri-County Superintendent Roundtable, a division of the Massachusetts Association of
School Superintendents, includes school leaders from 50 districts and educational
collaboratives in Middlesex, Norfolk, and Worcester Counties.

The annual breakfast was “an opportunity for us to share with our partners in the State House
some of the issues that we talk about a lot with our School Committees and in our Roundtable
meetings, and, just as importantly, for legislators to talk with us” said Emily Parks, Executive
Director at TEC. High school students from the TEC Phoenix Academy in Walpole prepared
breakfast for the attendees as part of their culinary studies.

While expressing appreciation for legislators’ support of important initiatives such as the Student
Opportunity Act and universal access to free meals at school, superintendents pointed to
specific challenges that schools are facing in FY’25. These issues include rising special
education and transportation costs, an impending “fiscal cliff” in school budgets created by the
end of federal pandemic relief funds, the limitations of the state’s Chapter 70 formula (funding
for public schools) that has not kept pace with inflation, and schools’ obligation to provide
continued support for migrant students.

The members of the Tri-County Roundtable, represented by presenters Superintendent Susan
Kustka of Holliston, Superintendent Tim Piwowar of Westwood, Superintendent David Lussier of
Wellesley, and Superintendent Linus Gillory of Brookline, emphasized the need to work
collaboratively in order to ensure Massachusetts students receive the equitable academic
opportunities, despite the fiscal challenges being experienced throughout the Commonwealth.
Superintendent Anna Nolin of Newton fielded questions and comments.

Rep. Denise Garlick, Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Education, echoed the
“collaborative spirit” of the conversation and underscored the importance of continuing to work
together on behalf of the Commonwealth’s students.

Legislators, school superintendents, and school committee members at a recent legislative breakfast co-hosted by the Tri-County Superintendents Roundtable and The Education Cooperative.

Rep. Denise Garlick talks with members of the Tri-County Superintendents Roundtable

Representative Paul McMurtry with district leaders from the Dedham Public Schools.