The Lynn Public School’s newly-unveiled budget shows off Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler’s masterful ability to illuminate a vision for public education’s future while taking a common sense approach to immediate challenges.
The $180.7 million proposed school budget includes $14 million in state Student Opportunity Act (SOA) money. That amount represents a spending commitment that will be renewed annually for each of the next six years.
Heralded by state educators in the fall of 2019 as the most sweeping Massachusetts public education overhaul since the 1993 Education Reform Act, SOA was in the early stages of its initial implementation when COVID-19 hit and public schools plummeted into chaos with school closings and remote learning.
SOA wasn’t forgotten by state and local officials during the pandemic, but the focus on COVID-19 took precedence over all concerns and priorities as Tutwiler and other educators grappled with educating children with schools closed — and then getting them back into classrooms.
The return to school is a reality and, as he fine tunes his budget, Tutwiler is building in flexibility to account for any surprises the pandemic threatens to throw at public education. He is also throwing down the gauntlet and declaring a 93 percent attendance rate is not good enough for Lynn’s public schools.
Pandemic watchfulness and enrollment are short-term concerns Tutwiler is juggling even as he applies his mantra of “core values, mission, and vision” to education’s future in Lynn.
The fiscal year 2022 budget is shaped by the community input process driven by SOA reforms, and Tutwiler is building on that process by making sure school spending includes money to hire parent liaisons who can bridge language gaps and involve families more in school events.
Tutwiler the education visionary understands that the best way to improve enrollment is to educate parents on the daily challenges and triumphs their children face in the classroom.
His commitment to English language learning and smaller class sizes defines Tutwiler’s commitment to core education values; moreover, his budget plan to expand technology education in elementary schools is a perfect example of his long-term vision.
Most elementary-school students probably know more about technology than their teachers, but by acknowledging technology’s importance in education at an early age, Tutwiler is embracing the forward-thinking essence of SOA and is guiding Lynn schools forward with a sure hand.
