Mali joins parents and educators to advocate for funding and warns against cuts to systems of support.

"I'm the mother of 3 NPS students, I've been an educator for 20 years, and I'm a mental health specialist".

"When you hired Dr. Nolin, you entrusted her with the responsibility of evaluating, shaping, and improving our schools. She's now telling you what she needs, and your job is to support her and advocate for her budget".

"Costs in education are rising. Instead of advocating for more funding, many of you have shown a general lack of understanding of what our schools actually need and more willingness to pay lawyers than teachers.

Rising costs of Special Education are closely tied to the city's continued refusal to adequately fund general education, particularly the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support . This approach is ultimately leading to increased costs rather than savings.

A critical example of this is the continued resistance to funding contractually mandated Kindergarten aides. Providing these essential supports to our youngest students—helping them develop important behavioral and emotional management skills—sets the foundation for their future success. Without them, we risk creating long-term challenges that require more extensive and expensive interventions as students progress through school."

"The school committee must support the superintendent’s proposed budget and push back against the mayor’s proposed budget cuts that threaten to strip away vital support for general education. The future of our students depends on these investments, and you have the power to make decisions that will support our children’s success and prevent even higher costs down the road."