It is clear the Triton has needed major renovations for quite some time now, but why hasn’t that happened? This is due to the educational funding guidelines that exist within our state at this moment. In Massachusetts, public schools rely on local property taxes from the towns in which they are located for funding. This is not beneficial for schools like Triton. The state needs to better fund and distribute funds to public schools like Triton.
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1780) states: “It shall be the duty of legislatures and magistrates, in all future periods of this commonwealth, to cherish the public schools and grammar schools in the towns.” This shows that even the constitution states that schools and education should be prioritized above other things.
Wealthier towns such as Newburyport have lots of funding due to the high local property taxes and residents ability to pay them. Poorer towns like Lawrence get the state funding for education and building new schools because they don’t have as high property taxes. Triton, which sits in the middle of the two in terms of local property taxes, does not get a lot from taxes or state funding. This leaves us with little funding for our school.
There are alternate grants and loans that the state can give out to districts that apply for them, which Triton did and was denied twice before for a new school. The decision to deny Triton this grant is questionable because Triton is in critical condition with the roof leaking every time it rains, outdated classrooms and technology as well as not enough funding for some essential classes to be run. It was only on the district’s third attempt that the money was offered for Triton’s building project. This shows just how hard it is for school districts like Triton to receive funding from property taxes as well as additional funding from the state in the form of grants.
In 1973 there was a case called the San Antonio Independent School District et. Al v. Rodriguez et. Al, 411 U.S. In this case parents of students that attended the San Antonio school district challenged the school funding system. Their school funding system is identical to the one we have in Massachusetts now, which means schools only collect money from local property taxes. The court eventually ruled that the funding system was not unconstitutional because education is not a fundamental right.
The court’s ruling in this case has since been looked at by many and heavily debated. The families took this issue to court because they felt that property taxes alone weren’t enough to fund their children’s school and education. I think schools like the San Antonio Independent School District should receive additional funding for the school resources as well as education, in addition to the money they collect from property taxes.
Triton can fall under this same category as the San Antonio Independent School District and should receive additional funding due to the low amount of money received from the state funding formula . Things like transportation of students can heavily affect our budget because our school is made up of three towns and some kids come all the way from Salisbury. Our roofs at Triton have been known to leak when it rains, which creates a safety hazard for students and staff. We are not able to solve problems like these due to the way we receive money, which is why the state needs to do a better job at distributing funds for school or even create a newer and fairer system.
