Chair Monroe Naylor convened the Springfield Public Schools Legislative & Contracts Subcommittee and asked members to vote to send a proposed resolution supporting the Mass Promise to Invest campaign to the full school committee for consideration.

The superintendent described the item as “simply a vote to the sub…to review the resolution in support of Mass Promise to Invest equitable public school funding for every child,” saying the goal is to make sure Springfield “gets their fair share of the money that would support the education of our students.” Attorney Keith said the resolution uses a template provided by the Mass Promise to Invest campaign and that the subcommittee’s review focused on charter-school reimbursement rates rather than school-choice funding.

The resolution is framed as an ask to state representatives, the governor and organizations including MASC to examine how state funding and charter reimbursements affect Springfield’s aid. Attorney Keith told the committee he had confirmed the campaign’s financial data with Chief Roach and recommended limiting the resolution’s focus to the charter reimbursement rate; the superintendent said special-education reimbursement and allocations were discussed with organizers but were not included in this draft.

Members suggested adding state legislators who represent parts of Springfield to the distribution list. The subcommittee moved and seconded a recommendation that the full committee consider the resolution. In a roll-call vote the recorded votes were Chair Monroe Naylor: yes; Member Harris: yes; Member Collins: yes. The motion carried, and the item will be placed on the full committee agenda for a future meeting. The timeline for legislative action is unclear: committee members noted they had not seen a filed bill and said staff would follow up with Mass Promise to Invest on whether and when legislation would be introduced.

Details discussed but not specified in the record include the dollar amounts or budgetary impact of the charter reimbursement change; the transcript records that the financial figures were reviewed with Chief Roach but does not state totals. The subcommittee did not adopt any policy changes; it recommended that the full committee consider the resolution.