Margaret was born in Georgia, just outside of Ft. Benning. Her family often struggled to make ends meet, and she dropped out of high school at the end of her junior year to help. While working full-time, she acquired her General Equivalency Diploma at age 17.
As a former teacher, I understand the power of education to create new possibilities and change lives. Educational costs are also a significant part of First Middlesex town budgets, and inequities in funding from the state must be addressed -- specifically for regionalized schools, special education, and charter school reimbursements. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is legally required to fully reimburse regional school districts (RSDs) for transportation costs, subject to appropriation. The State Legislature has never kept this promise, leaving Pepperell, Townsend, Ashby, Groton, and Dunstable scrambling to pay the shortfall.
As your state representative, I will prioritize holding the state to its promise, which will return hundreds of thousands of dollars to the regionalized towns in the First Middlesex. I will also introduce legislation to modernize the funding formula to address charter school and special education inequities that exist in the Massachusetts Education Reform Act.