City Challenges Colleges to Do More
Friday, June 08, 2012
The 2013 budget for Worcester Public Schools was aided in large part by delaying the addition of incoming recruits to the force until October 1. While that $350,000 helped create a fix for this year’s budget, as City Manager O’Brien indicated, it is a one-time fix to a long-term problem.
The City’s Call
Some colleges, such as Clark University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Holy Cross have already been involved in aiding local schools – private and public, but O’Brien is hoping that given today’s financial climate, organizations like institutions of higher learning will be able to offer their resources to the area.
“Our colleges and universities have a desire, a willingness and a stake in achieving a 21st century education system, so it is vital that they are part of any discussion or any plan to realize this goal,” O’Brien said.
The City Manager detailed his desire to have universities, parents, corporations, government, social service agencies, and others to become more involved.
“The Manager laid out what he believes is a critical step toward building a 21st century education system in today's fiscal climate,” said O’Brien’s communications director, Christina Andreoli.
“He indicated that there is a need for broader dialogue on how to achieve a realistic, multi-year plan for the public schools' budgets that reflects the goal of achieving a 21st century education system and sustaining it year after year,” she said.
No plan has been developed yet to finalize this order, but the Manager is willing and committed to leading that effort. At last week’s meeting, Councilors commended O’Brien for his ability to gain PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) funding from local colleges.
A More Sustainable Budget
The main focus of the challenge to local universities is to develop a more sustainable financial plan for Worcester’s public schools.
“I support the City Manager’s effort,” said At-Large Councilor Konnie Lukes, who criticized the Manager at last week’s meeting for his one-time fix for the 2013 budget. “We want to deal with public schools being adopted by colleges so that they can be linked and have access to all the resources, students, and faculty of our local colleges.”
Lukes cited two examples in the area that showcase the ability for colleges and local schools to work well together.
“Clark supports the University Park Campus School which is national model that has been cited even by Obama. The Nativity School is another example,” she said. “That way we can be less reliant on the repeated need to supplement the school budget.”
Positive Examples
While the Nativity School is a private school, it still demonstrates the benefit of linking area universities. Private schools, although they are not susceptible to the same budget issues as public schools, still face many of the same hardships in terms of aiding youth from the city with many different backgrounds.
As someone who has seen the benefit of this relationship first-hand, Maloney agreed that getting universities more involved with public schools is a key step in the right direction.
“I think that’s one of the city’s greatest strengths – the amount of education facilities in the area. It would be beneficial for everyone in the area to work together and improve this network,” Maloney said. “We have a variety of different needs. We could help everybody involved.”
The Nativity School, an all-boy Jesuit school, was founded in 2003 has received tremendous support from Holy Cross.
“We have received continuous support from Holy Cross and their college community. The college itself certainly helps up. We receive a lot of tutors as part of the Student Programs for Urban Development plan,” he said. “It’s a volunteer community service student organization on campus.”
Maloney said that one of the key things the colleges do is tutoring at Worcester Public Schools and the Nativity School.
“Our boys go to school until 6:30 most days and have the ability to have tutors coming from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Holy Cross, and Assumption,” Maloney said. “They’re able to help them in different subjects that they’re looking for extra direction in. We also receive gifts in kind from Holy Cross, such as the use of athletic fields which continually have been invaluably helpful.”
With examples like this already in the area, hopes are high that O’Brien’s call for universities to become more involved in local education will help solve the city’s long-term issue of funding Worcester public schools.
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