Eric Buddington for City Council: NATA Survey

The North Adams Teachers Association has mailed a survey to all Council candidates regarding educational issues.

I have summarized the questions here to save space. I have omitted questions that ask about increased funding; the answer is obviously yes, but the question should be "how?". I suggest that the City Council could do much more to lobby state representatives for funding, perhaps in coordination with other Berkshire towns.

How to get appropriate state funding for schools?: This will clearly involve lobbying state legislators. This would be most effective if many towns coordinate the lobbying effort to make clear that this is an issue of importance to the state as a whole, not just North Adams.
How are you educating the citizens of North Adams in the needs of the North Adams Public Schools? What do you do to engage and organize parents and citizens around public education issues?: I frequently discuss the importance of public education on my weekly television show ("Worth Knowing", Ch. 15, 8pm Sunday). There are quite a number of home-schooled chindren in the area, for a variety of reasons. It would be worth our time to bring these families into the discussion, as they often have deeply-considered concerns about the public schools.

What is an acceptable class size for grades K-7?

As a violin teacher, my main experience is teaching individual students. I don't have enough experience with large classroom dymanics to make this judgement. I am certain that the ideal class size is very small; perhaps 12-15 students. Hiring enough teachers for that would be worthwhile, but expensive.

Would you be willing to visit large classrooms?

Of course; the more I can learn about our local schools, the better. That said, I am already convinced that large class sizes are a pressing problem.

What would you do to keep class sizes low?

I would prefer to hire more teachers. However, the city has been running on a skeleton crew for the fourteen years I've lived here. After this summer's failed override it is clear that, for now, the voters prefer a low-tax, low-service form of government.

The best option is to increase state funding for education. If education is to be considered a right, the Commonwealth needs to improve funding to ensure that North Adams and similar towns can afford a quality education for all children.

North Adams already uses volunteer and low-paid community help in the schools. This is good, and should be expanded - but it is no substitute for skilled, trained teachers.

What would you do to to equalize class sizes among schools in North Adams?: I do not currently know enough specifics about the distribution of class sizes across schools to address this.
How should special education be funded?: Special education is a particularly expensive component of our public schools, and should be funded by the state; every special needs student should have attached funding that covers the costs of any extra educational needs.
Should teachers receive salaries competitive with other professions with similar educational requirements and responsibilities?: Of course, with the understanding that there are other underpaid professionals in the area who also deserve better pay. Clearly, the City budget cannot provide this; we must get better state funding and create a stronger local economy overall to do so.
Plans for replacement and renovation of schools: The best long-term plan is to keep current on maintenance for our school buildings, and plan several decades ahead for major upgrades, including new school buildings. Grant money often skews these decisions, as it may fund replacement but not renovation.
Vocational and occupational training: I am in favor of increased vocational and occupational training starting around grade 11. I particularly favor education in business planning and accounting; this could significantly increase the success rate of local businesses.
Collective bargaining: I am a strong proponent of collective bargaining, including public sector workers. I deplore the current national trend of stripping public union rights altogether or, in the case of Massachusetts, allowing town governments to unilaterally alter the terms of health insurance in an existing contract.

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Comments?

I can be reached at eric@buddington.net or at 663-9331.