NTA President Mike Zilles responds to Matt Hills’ analysis
By Adam Bernstein on January 23, 2024
On Tuesday, January 22, Newton Teachers Association President Mike Zilles sent Fig City News this response to the analysis that former Newton School Committee Chair Matt Hills had provided to Fig City News the previous day.
Matt Hills currently has no formal role in negotiations between the Newton Teachers Association and the Newton School Committee. While true, it is also true that Matt has a history of disagreeing with the perspective of the Newton Teachers Association (“NTA”), and he was instrumental in setting the stage for the Newton School Committee and the Newton Teachers Association to be in the position that we are in. In 2014, after the citizens of Newton had just passed a Proposition 2 1/2 operating override, Hills was Chair of the School Committee, and demanded that the NTA accept a three-year contract that did not include cost-of-living adjustments (“COLA’s”) for our members. We thought this demand was outrageous, and over the ensuing years of Mr. Hills’ terms we continued to see this disrespect that has contributed to the current moment.
The NTA has repeatedly shown what revenue is available to Mayor Fuller. While we have previously conveyed to your readers some technical details of Newton’s municipal finance, in order to call out the inaccuracies of Hills’ analysis a couple broad points deserve mentioning that call into question Hills’ posture as a fiscal expert:
The city can afford to dedicate more of its revenue towards the schools. Of the $63 million the city received in ARPA funds, only $3.5 million went directly into the schools’ operating budget. The other $10 million that Mayor Fuller claims went to the schools actually was used to pay for building improvements that were already planned and were the city’s responsibility to finance. This relieved the city of an enormous financial burden that it would otherwise have had to carry.
Hills falsely characterizes the limitations of the Proposition 2 1/2 cap on revenue growth from property taxes. He states that additional tax-revenue growth beyond the cap from new development amounts to “small changes at margin.” Property tax revenues have increased by 4.62% per year on average since 2010 — a significant amount more than 2.5%. In a City budget that currently exceeds $500 million, that’s over a $13 million increase over the Proposition 2 1/2 cap on revenue growth every year. That is hardly “a small change on the margin.” I’m very surprised that Hills would state this on the public record.
Any realistic and honest appraisal of City of Newton finances shows that the NTA’s proposals are fiscally responsible. Our proposals do require Mayor Fuller to adjust her irrational approach to holding school funding at a 3.5 % annual growth. Denying a living wage to our Unit C members, denying mental health services to students, and denying educators humane and modern paid family leave simply because those crucial needs do not fit within an arbitrary budget formula is not in the short or long-term interests of Newton Public Schools.
As a former Chairperson of the Newton School Committee, Hills should be speaking out against Mayor Fuller’s budget priorities, as they are destructive to our schools, students and educators. Her budget tactics have produced cuts and degradation of student services. Certainly, the NTA will not accept further cuts, and we expect the mayor to provide the funds that will settle a contract that students, educators and the community deserve. Enough is enough.
