Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee today reported out a tight $39.5 billion fiscal 2017 state budget plan that would increase overall state expenditures by approximately 3.5 percent.
The budget bill (S. 4) is slightly smaller than the budget passed by the House last month and the version filed by the governor in January, yet it would offer the largest increase in Chapter 70 aid.
S. 4 would provide strong progress on several local aid priorities, including the $42 million increase in Unrestricted General Government Aid, which the governor and the House have also agreed on. The bill would increase funding for several major aid programs, adding $9.3 million to the Special Education Circuit Breaker, increasing Chapter 70 new minimum aid to $55 per student, and by adding funds in the Chapter 70 distribution to help address the low-income student calculation and to accelerate implementation of the so-called target share provisions.
• Link to Division of Local Services website for each community’s local aid and preliminary Cherry Sheet numbers based on Senate Ways and Means budget
S. 4 would provide $1.02 billion for UGGA, a $42 million increase over current funding. The 4.3 percent increase matches the projected growth in state tax collections next year and would be the largest increase in discretionary municipal aid in nearly a decade. Every city and town would see its UGGA funding increase by 4.3 percent.
The Senate budget committee is proposing a $116 million increase in Chapter 70 education aid above fiscal 2016 levels, providing every city, town and school district with an increase of at least $55 per student (which matches the House level). In addition, S. 4 would add funds to aid communities affected by changes in the calculations used to account for low-income students. (The House included a $10 million reserve account for this issue instead of incorporating the funds into the Chapter 70 distribution.) S. 4 would also accelerate the implementation of the 2007 target share provisions – the Senate proposal is to fund 85 percent of the target share goal, compared to the House’s 70 percent.
Overall, S. 4 would provide $44 million more in direct Chapter 70 distributions than the governor’s budget and $20 million more than the House (or $10 million more after recognizing the House’s $10 million reserve for low-income students).
The Senate budget plan would provide $281.1 million for the Special Education Circuit Breaker program, a $9.3 million increase above fiscal 2016, with the intention of fully funding the account. The governor’s budget level-funded the program, and the House passed a $5 million increase.
S. 4 would, however, cut $16.6 million from Kindergarten Development Grants, leaving only $2 million in a program that funds kindergarten programs in 164 school districts. The governor and House level-funded the program at $18.6 million. Restoring these funds will be an MMA priority during the budget debate.
• Click here to see if your community is receiving these grants in fiscal 2016 (73K PDF)
Under state law, cities and towns that host or send students to charter schools are entitled to be reimbursed for a portion of their lost Chapter 70 aid. The state fully funded the reimbursement program in fiscal 2013 and 2014, but is underfunding reimbursements by approximately $46.5 million this year.
S. 4 would increase funding for charter school reimbursements to $87.5 million, a $7 million boost. This is $2 million more than the House, but $15 million less than the amount recommended by the governor. The program is underfunded in all three budget proposals, and increasing this account will be an MMA priority during the Senate budget debate.
S. 4 would level-fund regional school transportation reimbursements at $59 million ($1 million less than the House budget), level-fund PILOT payments at $26.77 million (the same as the House and governor), level-fund METCO at $20.1 million, and level-fund McKinney-Vento reimbursements at $8.35 million.
S. 4 would fund library grant programs at $18.9 million ($70,000 less than fiscal 2016 and $750,000 less than the House). The budget bill would reduce Shannon Anti-Gang Grants to $5 million, a $2 million reduction below fiscal 2016, and $1 million below the House.
The Senate budget would direct $211 million to the state’s stabilization fund to bring the balance to $1.47 billion. It would also require the secretary of Administration and Finance and the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means to set an implementation schedule to fulfill the Foundation Budget Review Commission’s recommendations to improve funding fairness and adequacy for all school districts.
Proposed amendments to the Senate budget bill are due by 5 p.m. Thursday, with debate scheduled to begin next Tuesday. Once the Senate passes its budget bill, a conference committee will work out the differences between the House and Senate bills, with the goal of delivering a final budget bill to the governor for his signature before the fiscal year begins on July 1.
• Link to Senate budget website