The fiscal cliff coming for Mass. schools

Also: How 3 Mass. biotechs are using AI; what boat speed limits could do for whales [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  March 19, 2024 ☀️ Sunny, with a high near 46. Good Morning Boston, Tonight marks the start of spring! (Winter, we [hardly knew ye]( Bookmark [this link]( for a go-to calendar of all of Boston's favorite spring traditions and hallmarks. But first, let's get to the news: - Brookline looks over the cliff: Facing a nearly $2.5 million shortfall in its budget, Brookline Public Schools are planning what the union says are "stunning" cuts to its staff and programming. - What's on the chopping block? It's more like who. The proposed cuts include all the staff for elementary school foreign language classes, half of the district's technology specialists and some literacy coaches. "I understand that this news is distressing and unsettling," Brookline Superintendent Linus J. Guillory Jr. said in a message to the community. - The union's point of view: Brookline Educators Union President Justin Brown told WBUR's Amy Sokolow this is not the first time those teachers' jobs have been on the line during difficult financial times. "We are very disappointed that yet again, the town is trying to balance its books on the backs of educators," Brown said, adding it's "ironic" that technology specialists were being targeted given the increased use of computers in classrooms. - Zoom out: This is hardly just a Brookline problem. From [Pittsfield]( to [Marblehead]( school districts across the state are grappling with layoffs and cuts as they try to balance their budgets for the next school year. School leaders say [the main reason is inflation rates]( affecting everything from transportation to curriculum costs. Additionally, the cutoff for spending federal COVID relief funds — some of which has been used to cover reoccurring costs like operations and salaries — is [coming this September](. - Massachusetts officials are looking to offer a stipend to help low-income residents break into in-demand jobs fields — from health care to manufacturing to construction. The plan is part of [the 641-page workforce agenda]( released yesterday by Gov. Maura Healey's office. It focuses on tapping the state's "untapped talent" (i.e. historically underrepresented or underserved groups). "By helping them, we can also meet the needs of employers, large and small, in industries statewide," Healey said at a press conference yesterday. - Zoom in: Officials plan to offer up to 1,500 stipends to those enrolled in two of the state's job training programs: the [Career Technical Initiative]( and the [Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund](. According to [proposal documents for the initiative]( the stipend amounts could range from $3,000 to $5,000, depending on the length of the program. State officials say the stipends will try to address common barriers to such training, like the cost of child care and transportation. - Crafting a comeback: The craft store giant Joann — formerly known as Jo-Ann Fabrics — [is filing for bankruptcy]( but plans to keep its stores open as it works to deal with its financial troubles. That includes [over 20 stores in Massachusetts]( out of over 800 nationwide. - The big picture: While the pandemic spurred a boom of interest in sewing, knitting and crafting, the company has since seen sales slip and now has over a billion dollars in long-term debt. - The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has voted to make Dean Serpa — a top aide to former Gov. Charlie Baker — its next executive director. As New England Public Media's Adam Frenier reports, commissioners cited Serpa's managerial experience overseeing operations for the governor's office as a big plus. - What's next: Serpa won't be the only new face in leadership at the agency. [Retiring MGC chair]( Cathy Judd-Stein's last day is this Thursday, creating a vacancy Healey will need to fill. - Shucks: The Ivory Pearl, an acclaimed oyster bar in Brookline's Washington Square, is planning to close at the end of the month. The owners of the restaurant [announced over the weekend]( they will close on March 31 due to a "changing restaurant landscape" and rising costs, less than four years after [originally opening](. P.S.— Healey is making her monthly appearance on Radio Boston today at 11 a.m. Have questions about the [recent marijuana pardons]( her [controversial out-of-state travel disclosure policy]( or [those Dunkin' tracksuits]( Send them [through our text club](. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [How 3 Mass. companies are using AI to design drugs]( Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies – and their investors – are betting the newest generation of artificial intelligence can help unleash novel treatments for everything from COVID to cancer and chronic diseases. [Read more.]( [How 3 Mass. companies are using AI to design drugs]( Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies – and their investors – are betting the newest generation of artificial intelligence can help unleash novel treatments for everything from COVID to cancer and chronic diseases. [Read more.]( [Former director of Boston's English learners program sues district, claiming retaliation]( Kapur’s suit is just the latest sign of trouble within the office overseeing the roughly 15,000 English learners in BPS classrooms.Just last fall, eight members of a district task force on English learners resigned in protest over the district's plans to move away from “language-specific” programs for its multilingual learners in the next few years. [Read more.]( [Former director of Boston's English learners program sues district, claiming retaliation]( Kapur’s suit is just the latest sign of trouble within the office overseeing the roughly 15,000 English learners in BPS classrooms.Just last fall, eight members of a district task force on English learners resigned in protest over the district's plans to move away from “language-specific” programs for its multilingual learners in the next few years. [Read more.]( [Climate change and boat strikes are killing right whales. Stricter speed limits could help them]( Being hit by boats or entangled in fishing gear are the leading causes of right whale deaths. Scientists say forcing even small boats to slow down could reduce whale deaths. [Read more.]( [Climate change and boat strikes are killing right whales. Stricter speed limits could help them]( Being hit by boats or entangled in fishing gear are the leading causes of right whale deaths. Scientists say forcing even small boats to slow down could reduce whale deaths. [Read more.]( [The U.S. bans most common form of asbestos, after decades of pushback from industry]( More than 50 other countries have already banned the substance, which has been known to lead to lung and ovarian cancer, mesothelioma and other deadly illnesses. Here's why it took so long for the EPA to follow suit. [Read more.]( [The U.S. bans most common form of asbestos, after decades of pushback from industry]( More than 50 other countries have already banned the substance, which has been known to lead to lung and ovarian cancer, mesothelioma and other deadly illnesses. Here's why it took so long for the EPA to follow suit. [Read more.]( [In Vermont, 'Town Meeting' is democracy embodied. What can the rest of the country learn from it?]( Democracy takes many forms, and some are more direct than others. In Elmore, Vermont, the tradition of Town Meeting is very direct. The nuts and bolts of town business and decision-making get done, and in the process something unfolds that doesn’t happen everywhere these days — in-person politics that are civil, friendly and followed by lunch. [Read more.]( [In Vermont, 'Town Meeting' is democracy embodied. What can the rest of the country learn from it?]( Democracy takes many forms, and some are more direct than others. In Elmore, Vermont, the tradition of Town Meeting is very direct. The nuts and bolts of town business and decision-making get done, and in the process something unfolds that doesn’t happen everywhere these days — in-person politics that are civil, friendly and followed by lunch. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - A Massachusetts family recently found not one, not two — but 22 pieces of centuries-old Japanese art stolen during WWII in their attic. While the FBI says the art has since been returned to Japan, how the antiques got to the attic [remains something of a mystery](. - New England native Sarah Braunstein's new novel, "Bad Animals," follows residents in a coastal Maine town through the eyes of a laid-off librarian — who is disingenuous but not completely unreliable. [As book critic Carol Iaciofano Aucoin writes in this review]( the framework gives the story "the quality of a novel within a novel." - Add another one to the books for New Hampshire's record-breaking winter: The earliest-ever “ice out” at Lake Winnipesaukee was [declared Sunday](. (Historically, Winnipesaukee has thawed in mid- to late April.) - The debate over the future of the MCAS seems to be headed toward the November ballot. But [as UMass Amherst professor Jack Schneider writes in this Cognoscenti commentary]( whether or not Massachusetts students should be required to earn a passing score on the test to earn a high school diploma is a complicated issue — and there's still time to find an evidence-based compromise that all parties can live with.  What We're Reading 📚 - Beyoncé has a country hit. How will country radio handle that? ([Washington Post]( - For sale: 7-bed mansion in Atlanta with … a Rembrandt stolen 34 years ago in the Gardner heist? ([The Boston Globe]( - The ‘Colorblindness’ Trap: How a Civil Rights Ideal Got Hijacked ([The New York Times](  Tell Me Something Good [Taylor Swift college classes are a thing now]( Popular classes at Harvard and Berklee College of Music use Taylor Swift as a tool to teach songwriting, literature and cultural analysis. [Read more.]( [Taylor Swift college classes are a thing now]( Popular classes at Harvard and Berklee College of Music use Taylor Swift as a tool to teach songwriting, literature and cultural analysis. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common takes [a closer look at how cuts to a state grant program will impact Massachusetts child care providers]( many of whom already function on razor thin margins. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [Geographic blasphemy!]( 😎 Forward to a friend. 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