Are you ready to advocate for young children, families, and early educators?
The Massachusetts fiscal year 2022 budget is nearing completion.
Right now, a conference committee is reviewing and resolving differences between the House and Senate budgets.
What’s at stake? For early education, there is a $44 million difference between the two budgets.
You can help by contacting the committee’s six members. They are:
• Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D-Gloucester)
• Representative Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston)
• Representative Todd Smola (R-Warren)
• Senator Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington)
• Senator Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth)
• Senator Michael Rodrigues (D-Westport)
Help our sector build back stronger, recruit and retain educators, and provide safe and high-quality programs for children and families. Every public dollar invested makes a difference. Advocate now!
Strategies for Children’s advocacy message to the Conference Committee highlights all early education and care line items that are conference-able (meaning they have different amounts of funding in the House and Senate budgets), including:
• Rate Increase for Early Educators (3000-1042): House funding, $20,000,000. Helps address the ongoing workforce shortage by increasing salaries for educators in subsidized programs.
• Sliding Fee Scale Reserve (3000-1044): Senate funding, $8,950,000. For a reserve to meet the costs of parent fees for state subsidized early education and care providers.
• Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (3000-6025): Senate funding, $10,000,000. Sustains and grows this local, public-private collaborative model of high-quality preschool expansion.
• Early Childhood Mental Health (3000-6075): Senate funding, $3,000,000
• And more!
Be sure to contact the conference committee members today, and spread the word to your networks.
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