Note: If your association would like to schedule a retirement workshop at your school, your
local president should call Harold Crowley at 800.392.6175, ext. 8240. Please be aware that
the M TA consultants do not have records of your service, so members are advised to bring
that information along to meetings.
AUBURN — Edward Nelson: first Saturday of
each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., M TA Central Office,
48 S word St., Auburn; 508.791.2121, or at home,
774.239.7823.
QUINC Y — Harold Crowley: Tuesdays, Wednesdays
and Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., M TA, 2 Heritage
Drive, 9th Floor, Quincy; 617.878.8240 or
800.392.6175, ext. 8240.
CAPE COD — Lawrence Abbruzzi: second Saturday
of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Barnstable Teachers
Association (B TA), 100 West Main St., Suite #7,
Hyannis; 508.775.8625, or at home, 508.824.9194.
FI TCHBURG — Karen Melanson: second Saturday
of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Fitchburg Teachers
Association office, 245 River St., Fitchburg; Call
978.355.6963.
HOLYOKE — Ron Lech: third Saturday of each
month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., M TA Western Office, 55
Bobala Road, Suite 3, Holyoke; 413.537.2335, or at
home, 413.893.9173.
LYNNFIELD — Mary Parry: third Saturday of each
month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., M TA Northeast Office, 50
Salem St., Building B, Lynnfield; call 978.372.2031.
Barbara Callaghan: fourth Saturday of each month,
9 a.m. to 1 p.m., M TA Northeast Office, 50 Salem St.,
Building B, Lynnfield; call 978.456.9997.
PI T TSFIELD — Ward F. Johnson: second Saturday
of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., M TA Berkshire
Office, 188 East St., Pittsfield; 413.499.0257, or at
home, 413.443.1722 .
RAYNHAM — Raymond Thompson: third Saturday
of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., M TA Southeast
Office, 756 Orchard Street, third floor, Raynham;
Call Thompson at 617.347.4425.
HIGHER EDUCATION AT-LARGE — Edward McCourt,
781.325.2553.
The M TA provides individual retirement consultations throughout the
state to assist members. Proof of membership must be submitted when
requesting retirement services. This schedule is in effect from September
to June except at M TA’s Quincy headquarters, which is staffed during the
summer and school vacations.
REGIONAL RETIREMENT CONSULTATIONS AVAILABLE
PLEASE NOTE:
All consultations are now by appointment only during the hours listed.
Paid Advertisement
Higher ed advocacy day set for March 5
M TA members, students, parents and other community members will gather at the State House for Public Higher Education Advocacy Day on Monday, March 5.
The event will begin in the Great Hall at 9:30 a.m. with a speaking
program and preparation for visits to legislators. Participants will
advocate for increased funding, better pay and working conditions for
faculty and staff, and a high-quality, debt-free public higher education
system that serves students and working families.
The advocacy day is being organized by the Public Higher
Education Network of Massachusetts. PHENOM Executive Director Zac
Bears said that no lobbying experience is required. Participants will be
trained in effective advocacy using their own stories.
A lunch and debriefing session will be held in the Great Hall after
late-morning visits to legislators’ offices, and the event is expected to
wrap up at about 2 p.m.
MTA President Barbara Madeloni urged as many MTA members as
possible to attend.
“State spending on public higher education is down 40 percent
since 2001,” Madeloni said. “Much of the cost of a college education
has shifted to students and their families, so many people simply cannot
afford to pursue a degree.”
She added that many students who are able to graduate “are hobbled
by loan payments just as they are trying to work their way into society.”
“We owe our young people more,” she said. “And we owe more to
those doing the work of educating our college students.”
To learn more and register, please visit phenomonline.org.
what they would like to see in their
own public schools — if they had
sufficient funding. Their wishes
included more field trips, experience-based learning, upgraded technology,
after-school programs, and better pay
for paraeducators.
Participants then marched together
into the high school auditorium and
joined approximately 50 residents
of area communities to watch
“Backpack.”
“We made a strong union
presence when we walked in, and
after the movie, there was a lot of
discussion about why unions matter,”
said Marshfield Education Association
Co-President Chris Galvin. “There
were a few politicians and their
representatives there as well, taking
In Arlington, educators flipped the
script, first showing “Backpack” and
then holding a community forum.
Members from MTA locals in
Arlington, Burlington, Lexington and
Belmont organized the Jan. 8 event
and worked with the Massachusetts
Education Justice Alliance and First
Parish Unitarian Universalist of
Arlington to promote the screening and
discussion.
As was the case in Marshfield, the
conversation turned toward the impact
of having too little to spend on the
needs of students and educators.
Lisa Guisbond, executive director
of Citizens for Public Schools,
encouraged school committees,
educators and community activists
to make the need for more funding
known.
She offered a scenario that
educators had previously used for
union organizing and community
building.
“The resolutions against charter
school expansion that school
committees passed during the No on
2 campaign were very influential,”
Guisbond said. “We need to do it again
for school funding. It’s worth fighting
‘Backpack’ screenings expose
campaign to privatize education
Continued from Page 7
fitchburgstate.edu/gce/education
978.665.3182 • gce@fitchburgstate.edu
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