Dr. Rachel Monarrez talks school safety, migrant crisis and Worcester Public School Building Maintenance

Worcester Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Rachel Monarrez joined Talk of the Commonwealth to talk about the new school year. School starts in Worcester on Monday, August 28th. In a far-reaching conversation, Hank and Dr. Monarrez spoke about school safety, the restructuring of the administration, the impact of the migrant families’ crisis on the school system and the age of Worcester’s school buildings. Monarrez says the school system has fifty-five buildings, many of them older buildings, and a funding stream is needed to keep up with the ongoing maintenance. She says we have the funding opportunity to improve, boilers, windows and roofs through a MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Authority)program or to do a complete tear down, but there has to be a funding stream for floors, lighting, plumbing and other basics. Monarrez said we need a revenue stream for these kinds of things in the middle, Monarrez said, the Worcester city budget is finite. We require another way to bring money into the schools, into the buildings. She said she has been working with the City Manager to bring forward a plan to get these things done.