The President and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) sent a letter to leaders of the Healey-Driscoll Administration today outlining continued concerns about proposed new statewide graduation requirements, particularly the fiscal implications of any new initiatives when many school districts are facing significant budget gaps.
M.A.S.S. President Karen Crebase, who is Superintendent of Hopedale Public Schools, and M.A.S.S. Executive Director Mary Bourque co-signed the letter, urging state leaders to accompany any new mandates with adequate state funding to cover the local costs associated with design, implementation, and staffing. The letter was sent to Governor Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Education Secretary Stephen Zrike, Jr., Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez, and the Chair and Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
“As you know, many school districts and their partners in municipal government are facing significant budget gaps, as major costs continue to escalate more sharply than state and local revenue,” they wrote. “In many cases, district leaders are making difficult decisions to eliminate positions and programs in order to balance their budgets. Many communities are pursuing Proposition 2½ overrides, but even when they succeed, they provide only temporary financial relief. In short, districts are struggling to fund existing programs and services, let alone any new initiatives.”
M.A.S.S. cited concerns about the financial demands on districts in a position paper issued in January 2026, in response to the interim report from the Governor’s Statewide K-12 Graduation Council. The position paper affirmed the commitment of the Superintendents’ association and its members to maintaining high standards for all students, while calling on the state to provide resources and flexibility in adopting new statewide graduation requirements.
In the letter, M.A.S.S. officials urged state leaders:
(1) to conduct a thorough analysis of the projected local costs of the framework proposed by the Council, and
(2) to include in the final recommendations a detailed plan for providing state funding to local districts to cover any new costs.
The letter underscores that when the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 was adopted, districts were required to implement numerous reforms – including new standards, curricula, assessments, accountability measures, and more – but those mandates were supported by a significant investment of new state funding in public education.
M.A.S.S. officials added, “Now, as you seek support for a new framework, we ask for a similar ‘grand bargain’ that ensures that state and local entities each do our part to ensure the success of our schools and our students.”
See also: Amy McKinstry, Superintendent of Northbridge Public Schools, published a guest opinion in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette about the proposed graduation requirements.