By Ray Leonardo
The U.S. stock market reached an all-time high this summer. As they say, investing in the market is a no-brainer, but funding public education is the best investment an American can make. Increased education levels in any community stimulate economic growth through increased productivity and creativity, spurring entrepreneurship and technological innovation.
On November 5, Winthrop voters will be asked to cast their vote on a 2.5 budget override to keep Winthrop Public Schools (WPS) afloat and prevent catastrophic budget cuts. Such cuts would lead to a dramatic reduction in programs, staffing, and student services. M.A. cities and towns pass budget overrides every two to five years, on average, due to cost increases significantly superseding 2.5% of the prior year’s budget. The town of Winthrop hasn’t passed a 2.5 budget override for Winthrop Public Schools in fifteen years. The lack of a budget override, along with the town council underfunding WPS for more than half a decade, has led WPS into a structural deficit that is entirely the result of a lack of revenue. The $4.95 million request from the Winthrop School Committee is only designed to keep the district above board, providing level service budgets through fiscal year 2028.
Winthrop residents should see WPS funding through a local and national lens. First, adequate funding allows WPS to offer programs and services to students that will enable them to pursue their passions and interests while keeping them in a safe place before and after regular school hours. In other words, the community is safer, and children thrive when these programs are funded.
Second, Winthrop has such a strong culture that its children often return as adults to raise their families, hoping they will have the same experiences growing up in a not-so-sleepy coastal town. Third, and from a national perspective, the United States has a strong entrepreneurial and creative spirit. A study from Northwestern University showed that for every dollar invested in public schools, there is a two-dollar return on investment in “additional future earnings” by each student. When you combine these realities, you can see how the proper funding of WPS has positive economic consequences for the community in the long term. As a taxpayer without children in the school system, it is easy to see cost increases as an unfair burden on your personal finances. However, I’d be surprised to hear a resident complain about tax increases on account of hiring more law enforcement because they do not have any family going through the police academy. Public services are precisely that, for the public’s benefit and funded by the public in a hopefully equitable manner.
As a former Winthrop High School teacher, I cannot understate the importance of extracurricular clubs and opportunities for a child’s development. As the founder of the WHS Model United Nations club, I witnessed waves of students expose themselves to international affairs for the first time. I observed students standing up in an MIT or Harvard University classroom in front of peers from around the world, speaking on topics like climate change, human rights, global health, and conflict resolution. These are opportunities afforded to students from different socioeconomic realities, many of which have gone on to incorporate the public speaking and technical writing skills from Model U.N. into their professional lives.
Winthrop taxpayers may feel the town is squeezing their finances, but that perception does not match the data. In fact, according to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Winthrop’s tax rate is obscenely low compared to towns with a similar tax base. In fiscal year 2023, Winthrop’s tax rate was in the 19th percentile. In other words, 81 percent of M.A. cities & towns had a higher property tax rate than Winthrop. The total assessed value in Winthrop (residential & commercial) is in the 61st percentile, well above the state average. Winthrop’s median household income also comes in above the state average.
The mismatch between the property tax rate and total assessed value in Winthrop is extraordinary compared to the rest of the Commonwealth and similar localities. Town Council President Jim Letterie and other local officials are correct when they say the town has a revenue problem. Comparing 18 similar localities based on total assessed property value, Winthrop’s tax rate of $10.70 was $4.06 lower than the sample average and ranked 2nd-to-last in the sample. Residents in town often cite extra costs, such as trash fees, to rationalize the lower tax rate, but 13 of the 18 municipalities in the sample also had trash fees. In other words, trash fees have become the norm in the Commonwealth; justifying the collapse of the WPS budget on account of a trash fee is not a strong argument. Based on household income and property value data, Winthrop is an upper-middle-class town, a reality that should be celebrated. Communities in similar financial positions fund their public school districts and celebrate the success of their students.
The hostile few who yell and scream that the WPS budget deficit results from the “evil” teachers union are not serious people, and they should also look at the data. First, Winthrop has been a great place to start a teaching career, thanks to the collaborative work of the WTA and district leaders. Our starting salaries are regionally competitive; however, there is a significant dropoff for mid and late-career educators, which can lead to outstanding teachers leaving the district after several years. Recent Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) data show that Winthrop’s average salary falls into the 23rd percentile. Again, this means that, on average, 77% of M.A. school districts pay their teachers higher salaries. If the WTA is the puppetmaster in town, it might want to enroll in a refresher course for puppetry.
Second, the Winthrop Teachers Association (WTA) is not in the business of bankrupting the district or town. Offering competitive salaries to staff across the pay scale is just one component of adequately funding public education unless you are happy with always hiring staff with zero years of teaching experience at an age only four years older than a high school senior.
Those few who claim that the WTA protects bad educators are sorely mistaken and perhaps are projecting their inability to hold a consistent job. As WTA President, I supported many staff whose contracts were nonrenewed for various reasons, including performance-based concerns. In fact, I saw more staff nonrenewed in WPS than I ever did in the private sector. The WTA and district leaders hold their staff to high standards, and I was proud to support that culture during my time as WTA president and a WPS educator.
The WTA cares about the working conditions of its members. Cuts to staff, programs, and services considerably harm those conditions. The students and the remaining staff will drown in large class sizes and suffer, to say the least; it is a feedback loop: student harm leads to staff harm, which leads to more student harm. Funding the schools at the level Superintendent Howard and the Winthrop School Committee requested is the only way to prevent that dangerous cycle from forming. Failure to do so will force the district to cut over $3.5 million from the FY25 school budget, devastating reductions in staffing, programs, and special services deemed necessary for many students. Long-term impacts on WPS could include lower graduation rates, MCAS and SAT scores, college admission rates, and even the loss of regional accreditation. The long-term effect on the community will be the obliteration of its most crucial pull factor for those seeking to relocate to the town.
Trust our school leaders; they are competent and entirely devoted to WPS’s success. Give Winthrop kids a fighting chance at success and vote “yes” on the Proposition 2.5 override in November.
Ray Leonardo is the outgoing WTA President.