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Boston's Morning Newsletter
Brookline school leaders propose layoffs, as Mass. schools near funding cliff
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
Tonight marks the start of spring! (Winter, we hardly knew ye.) Bookmark this link for a go-to calendar of all of Boston’s favorite spring traditions and hallmarks. But first, let’s get to the news:
Brookline looks over the cliff: Facing a nearly $2.5 million shortfall in its budget, Brookline Public Schools are planning what the union says are “stunning” cuts to its staff and programming.
- What’s on the chopping block? It’s more like who. The proposed cuts include all the staff for elementary school foreign language classes, half of the district’s technology specialists and some literacy coaches. “I understand that this news is distressing and unsettling,” Brookline Superintendent Linus J. Guillory Jr. said in a message to the community.
- The union’s point of view: Brookline Educators Union President Justin Brown told WBUR’s Amy Sokolow this is not the first time those teachers’ jobs have been on the line during difficult financial times. “We are very disappointed that yet again, the town is trying to balance its books on the backs of educators,” Brown said, adding it’s “ironic” that technology specialists were being targeted given the increased use of computers in classrooms.
- Zoom out: This is hardly just a Brookline problem. From Pittsfield to Marblehead, school districts across the state are grappling with layoffs and cuts as they try to balance their budgets for the next school year. School leaders say the main reason is inflation rates affecting everything from transportation to curriculum costs. Additionally, the cutoff for spending federal COVID relief funds — some of which has been used to cover reoccurring costs like operations and salaries — is coming this September.
Massachusetts officials are looking to offer a stipend to help low-income residents break into in-demand jobs fields — from health care to manufacturing to construction. The plan is part of the 641-page workforce agenda released yesterday by Gov. Maura Healey’s office. It focuses on tapping the state’s “untapped talent” (i.e. historically underrepresented or underserved groups). “By helping them, we can also meet the needs of employers, large and small, in industries statewide,” Healey said at a press conference yesterday.
- Zoom in: Officials plan to offer up to 1,500 stipends to those enrolled in two of the state’s job training programs: the Career Technical Initiative and the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund. According to proposal documents for the initiative, the stipend amounts could range from $3,000 to $5,000, depending on the length of the program. State officials say the stipends will try to address common barriers to such training, like the cost of child care and transportation.
Crafting a comeback: The craft store giant Joann — formerly known as Jo-Ann Fabrics — is filing for bankruptcy, but plans to keep its stores open as it works to deal with its financial troubles. That includes over 20 stores in Massachusetts, out of over 800 nationwide.
- The big picture: While the pandemic spurred a boom of interest in sewing, knitting and crafting, the company has since seen sales slip and now has over a billion dollars in long-term debt.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has voted to make Dean Serpa — a top aide to former Gov. Charlie Baker — its next executive director. As New England Public Media’s Adam Frenier reports, commissioners cited Serpa’s managerial experience overseeing operations for the governor’s office as a big plus.
- What’s next: Serpa won’t be the only new face in leadership at the agency. Retiring MGC chair Cathy Judd-Stein’s last day is this Thursday, creating a vacancy Healey will need to fill.
Shucks: The Ivory Pearl, an acclaimed oyster bar in Brookline’s Washington Square, is planning to close at the end of the month. The owners of the restaurant announced over the weekend they will close on March 31 due to a “changing restaurant landscape” and rising costs, less than four years after originally opening.
P.S.— Healey is making her monthly appearance on Radio Boston today at 11 a.m. Have questions about the recent marijuana pardons, her controversial out-of-state travel disclosure policy or those Dunkin’ tracksuits? Send them through our text club.
