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Long-term advocacy and support of public education cited
BOSTON –Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) has been named Legislator of the Year by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC).
Tarr “has been the personification of hard work, civility, and commitment when it comes to talking about public education and our future,” said Glenn Koocher, MASC’s executive director.
The organization said its Legislator of the Year Award recognizes a state senator and representative each year for service on behalf of Massachusetts public schools, children, and families.
This is the 23rd year legislators have been honored.
“Providing students with the best possible education is a foundational principle of our state government, and a longstanding priority for the legislature,” Tarr said in a statement.
“Giving students the best chances for success is a shared enterprise that demands the best leadership that we can provide, and one that I remain committed to,” he added.
Koocher, Michael Gilbert, former MASC northeast field director, and Andrea Wadsworth, the new CFO for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and former MASC President, presented Tarr with his award in the Senate’s historic Reading Room.
The ceremony took place in front of a picture of Horace Mann, Wadsworth’s great-great-grandfather.
In 1838, Mann, famous for spearheading the Common School Movement, was instrumental to the actual establishment of public schools throughout Massachusetts “ensuring that every child could receive a basic education funded by local taxes,” according to PBS.org.
“His support can be seen, heard, and felt in all areas including urban, regional, and rural,” Wadsworth said of Tarr.
Tarr has filed a number of bills related to education in the Senate. Those include:
S.352, An Act ensuring Charter School integrity
S.353, An Act relative to school safety
S.355, An Act relevant to special education
S.356, An Act relative to conducting a study on the delivery of special education services
