Hundreds of educators and supporters took over the steps of Springfield City Hall Thursday evening for a rally they dubbed ‘Fund Our Future.’
The Springfield rally took place simultaneously with two other big rallies – one in Boston and the other in Pittsfield. Educators were calling on the state legislature and the governor to increase funding in public schools and colleges and universities.
Students as young as a first-grader helped to energize the crowd at the rally. Alex Fleming was among the more than 500 people at City Hall, urging the state legislature to allocate more funding for education.
“We were having a big rally for our school,” Fleming, a first-grader, told 22News. “And we need for our students to have more money for our school to have more classes to learn more stuff.”
The group is pushing for the passage of two pieces of education funding legislation; the Cherish Act, which would increase funding for higher education, and the Promise Act, which focuses on public schools. If passed, Springfield schools would see $94-million more per year in state funding.