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Creating a Commission to Conduct a Study to Determine
the Resources Needed to Meet State Standards – S.299
Mary
Frantz, Education Specialist
Urge your legislators to support S.299 to study the issue of whether current
funding levels are adequate for public schools.
Background
The Supreme Judicial Court in both the
McDuffy and Hancock lawsuits has ruled that the Commonwealth has a
constitutional duty to finance the public schools both adequately and equitably.
The Education Reform Act of 1993 established the Foundation Budget as the
definition of the amount of money needed to provide an adequate education. The
proposed commission would evaluate the adequacy of the current funding levels.
The current Foundation Budget formula was developed in 1992 prior to the 1993
legislation. Except for inflation adjustments the Foundation Budget has seen
only very minor changes since 1993. Meanwhile the state has:
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enacted curriculum frameworks that define
and broaden the definition of what students are required to learn
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established MCAS graduation requirement
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established teacher training standards
The Legislation
The commission would be required to
investigate what resources schools need –from textbooks to teacher training,
from technology to time spent in school – for students to succeed under state
educational standards.
Lead Sponsor
Senator Jarrett Barrios
Talking Points
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In FY2000 the Legislature achieved the
goal of assuring that every school district had the financial resources equal
to its Foundation Budget through required local school spending and state aid.
Since then it has been faithful to this commitment.
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If the Foundation Budget is not sufficient
to provide for the constitutionally required adequate education, the
Commonwealth is falling short in its duty to our children in the public
schools. The proposed commission would determine if this is indeed the case.
An Act Simplifying and Making More Equitable the
Provisions of Chapter 70 Relative to the Distribution of State Aid –
S.350/H.1209
Urge your legislators to support S.350/H.1209. In speaking with your
legislators, please stress the importance of getting a Chapter 70 reform bill
adopted during this legislative session.
Background
In 1995 a study by the League of Women
Voters Fiscal Policy Committee found great inequity in how state school aid was
being distributed to Massachusetts cities and towns. The League found that
communities of similar fiscal strength did not receive similar levels of aid and
did not have similar spending requirements. In 1996 the League filed legislation
to replace the state’s school aid distribution formula (Chapter 70) with a more
equitable formula. Not much has changed since 1996. The current distribution of
aid continues to be inequitable, so the League has re-filed this legislation.
The basic premise of the League’s formula, that communities of similar
fiscal strength should receive similar aid and have similar spending
requirements, is commonly accepted. The problem is that there is no agreement on
how to define “communities of similar fiscal strength.” The League proposal
measures local fiscal strength as property value per pupil compared to the state
average. Others feel that local income should also be considered.
The Legislation
S.350/H.1209 proposes a formula that:
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calculates school aid as a percentage of a
community’s foundation budget: the aid percentage for each community is based
upon its local property wealth per pupil compared to the state average.
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is progressively equitable: more aid goes
to poorer cities and towns and less to the wealthier cities and towns.
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treats cities and towns of similar
financial circumstances the same.
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provides that no city or town would
receive less aid than in the fiscal year prior to its implementation.
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makes yearly adjustments in aid amounts
that reflect changes in enrollment.
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is easily explained and understood.
Lead Sponsors
Senator Pamela Resor and Representative
Geoffrey Hall
Talking Points
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In FY2004, due to the state’s financial
shortfall, many school districts saw up to a 20% reduction in school aid.
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Current school aid amounts in many of
these districts are still below FY2003 levels.
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The League does not support the inclusion
of an income factor because:
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cities and towns cannot tax incomes; this
measure does not reflect a community’s ability to raise local revenue.
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income data for owners of second homes
(who are indeed taxpayers) is not included in the data for the second-home
community; this data is collected based only on a taxpayer’s primary
residence.
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income data reflects only residents; it
does not measure the fiscal strength of the commercial sector.
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