Earlier this month, new Senate President Karen Spilka shook up the state's Education Committee by replacing chairwoman Sonia Chang-Diaz with Sen. Jason Lewis.
The leadership change may reboot the debate over reforms to the state's school funding formula, or the "Chapter 70" formula, which ultimately died last year after the House and Senate committees failed to reach a compromise before the end of the legislative session.
Read more: Chang-Diaz's Removal From Education Committee Sparks Discussion About Lack Of Diversity
Paul Reville, former secretary of education of Massachusetts, told Boston Public Radio on Thursday that the leadership change "provides some hopefulness" for a compromise. Reville is a professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where he also runs the Education Redesign Lab.
"I think there was strong leadership there before — Sonia Chang-Diaz was certainly an education advocate and a former teacher," Reville said. "I do think there was an impasse last summer between the Senate and House versions of a fix that's long overdue on Chapter 70. Getting new players at the table, I think, is a way of shaking things up and provides some hopefulness."
"I think Jason Lewis has a good reputation of somebody who can negotiate a deal," Reville added. "Let's see what happens."
Reville also said the support of Gov. Charlie Baker could push the issue along. Baker filed a bill last month that would "overhaul the state's school funding formula to better account for costs associated with special education, teaching low-income students and English language learners, and employee health care expenses," according to the State House News Service.
"I think it's significant the governor has already come forward with his budget and made this topic of Chapter 70 finance reform a top priority, and they almost got there last summer," he said. "I'm hoping and predicting there will be a solution to this in the next few months."
