FY2002 Budget Address of Mayor David B. Cohen

(Educational Excerpts)

April 17, 2001

Members of the Board of Aldermen School Committee members, department heads, family, friends and fellow citizens, thank you for being here this evening and for your continuing work on behalf of the City of Newton. Your interest, efforts, and devotion have made Newton a leader among cities. I would like to recognize our public officials for being here and for their leadership in this city.

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I welcome Superintendent Jeffrey Young with whom I have worked closely. We will always be proud of our schools as long as they are in your caring and capable hands. I welcome also School Committee Chairman, Verne Vance, whose demeanor and judgment has provided stability in uncertain times. I greet also the rest of the members of the School Committee. You are our schools best advocates.

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This budget once again seeks to embody the values that have made Newton a leader among cities; dedication to building community, commitment to excellence in the services we deliver, commitment to excellence in customer service, fiscal prudence, support for the citizen volunteers who give so much to our city, and cherishing of public education.

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No area is more central to Newton’s identity as a community, its tradition of leadership, and its future than its public schools. The one area of this budget that I am not satisfied with is the amount provided for education. The School Committee has asked for $6.5 million in additional funds for FY 2002, and given the needs of the school system, this is a reasonable amount. The $4.3 million that this budget, in conjunction with the Governor’s proposed budget, provides to the schools, leaves a $2.2 million gap and must be improved upon. The Governor’s proposed budget seriously underfunded state aid to education. Since that document came out in February, I have been working with mayors and selectmen throughout the state and the Mass. Municipal Association to have the Legislature increase that amount. That way Newton schools, indeed schools throughout the state, can have the resources they need to conduct the kind of educational program our children deserve. I am particularly grateful to the Newton legislative delegation, Reps. Balser Kaprelian, Khan and Koutoujian and Sen. Creem, for their help and support in this effort.

We will learn, at least in part, the results of our efforts when the House budget is released in a few days. Naturally, we all hope that spending plan will provide our schools with more funds. But if it doesn’t, I will not give up and will continue the effort to find additional funds for the school budget. The tradition of support for our public schools is simply too strong to do otherwise.

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Ladies and gentlemen of the Board of Aldermen, members of the School Committee, Superintendent Young, fellow Newtonians, because of a softening economy and the revenue crunch it is causing, we have never faced a more challenging budget. Finding the funds we need to carry out important city services has never been more difficult. And cutting is never easy. But I promise you this. If we are true to the principles that have served this city in the past, if we work together, if we are guided by prudence and a commitment to do what is best for the city, then we will emerge stronger than before with a sound spending plan.

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