By Brogan Ringgold
Boston University News Service
Over 70 members of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts union demanded increased state investment in public schools as districts continue to face the consequences of Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns at the second annual AFT Advocacy Day.
Coalitions of educators and staff from the union filled the halls of the Massachusetts State House advocating for legislation before the House of Representatives and Senate review the state budget for the 2027 fiscal year next week. Groups pushed for support of the ICE Impact Stabilization Fund that would grant emergency funding to communities to counter the financial losses caused by declines in student enrollment.
“Families are leaving to go back to their home countries, other less targeted communities, and even to red states,” said Vanesa Mendoza, vice president of Chelsea Teachers’ Union and teacher at Kelly Elementary School.
Communities like Chelsea are among those that have been hit the hardest by the federal government. The district has lost over 400 students and 57 educators, 10% of their staff, according to Mendoza.
With declining enrollment, educators say each of their schools has lost vital funds to maintain quality education for their students, which has resulted in major layoffs throughout the district.
For many of these teachers though, the issue runs deeper than budgets.
Mendoza described families canceling for community events because ICE had been stationed outside of their homes.
Kyle McGee, a first grade teacher at Sokolowski Elementary School in Chelsea, Mass., says that her students are scared watching friends and family get deported. She described how she told her students that they were taking a field trip to the Museum of Science in Cambridge, Mass., when one said “I thought we weren’t supposed to go anywhere? What about La Migra [ICE]?”
“My cross country team can only run laps around the school building,” said Olivia Santos, the building representative for Wright Science and Technology Academy.
School administrators are anxious to discuss the issue with students, according to McGee and Mendoza.
“They say they don’t want to spook the kids,” said Mendoza.
“But they know. The whole classroom knows. They’re all talking about it,” said McGee.
The impact of ICE in communities like Chelsea is part of a larger fiscal crisis that the union is trying to tackle, according to Jessica Tang, president of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts.
“The fiscal crisis doesn’t just hurt our members, it hurts our communities,” said Tang.
Massachusetts is equipped to handle the crisis if educators and legislators can band together to support each other, according to Tang.
“We have to be proactive not reactive,” she said. “None of us are fighting alone. Our strength is in solidarity and our communities.”
Beyond emergency funding against ICE, educators spoke in favor of other issues close to them, including a one-time opt-in to RetirementPlus, the retirement plan for Massachusetts educators, and a reformed approach to charter school funding.
“A really significant part of public school funding is going to charters,” said Siobhan Loving, the lead building representative for Kelly Elementary School.
When students leave for charter schools, the public schools fund their tuition, which leads to less funding for students at the school, according to Loving. Bills H.4511 and S.2614 in the House of Representatives and Senate would cap the money that districts lose to these schools.
“The schools decrease in quality, so more students leave,” she said. “We end up in a negative feedback loop.”
Groups had difficulty reaching specific representatives and spoke to different staff members instead.
“It’s okay if your legislator is not here. We know it’s April break and there’s less people here than usual,” said Jessica Tang. “The staff are super important, so don’t be discouraged if we don’t have your legislator with you today.”
The 2027 fiscal year budget is still in debate in the House, which will resume discussions next week Monday before making its way to the Senate.
