Governor offers $168m to education
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
School districts in Massachusetts would win a timely $168 million infusion of federal stimulus money under a plan Governor Deval Patrick announced today, offering some degree of relief to local schools that are preparing plans for teacher layoffs, program cuts, and school closings.
 Governor Deval Patrick |
While state and local education officials do not know whether the money will be enough to counteract the deep effects of the historic recession, which continues to erode the taxes used to pay for public education, it represents a rare financial windfall for municipalities.
"Second graders only get one chance at second grade. Thanks to these federal recovery funds, we can give our students the education they deserve and avoid short changing their future," Patrick said in a statement.
The money would go to 166 school districts that are in danger of slipping below state set minimums for education spending because of the recession. The state had not been planning to increase funding for the 166 districts, which represent roughly half the school districts in the state. The amount varies widely from $14,363,614 for Worcester to $30 for Adams. A list detailing the needs of all 166 school districts can be found here.
The governor made the announcement this morning at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in Framingham, a town expected to receive $3.5 million in additional funds through the proposal. Local officials will not be able to use the money to offset the effects of hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to general local aid that pays for other municipal services.
Patrick has the power to allocate the federal stimulus money, but because state education funding involves complicated formulas, he will have to work with the Legislature to build consensus for his plan. The money to be announced today will supplement school operating budgets, which are typically supported by state aid and local property taxes.
"Even though school districts are cutting, even though school committees are frustrated, we do have a measure of hope and encouragement," said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. "But the longer-term effect will be determined by the impact of the recession and how long it lasts."
The governor wanted to make the announcement early enough that local school officials could make plans for next year's budgets, said the administration official, but the announcement's timing could also draw legislative opposition because House and Senate lawmakers have not finalized their budgets and the governor's proposal could limit their options. House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray generally supported the concept yesterday in statements issued by their spokesmen, but they did not commit to details.
The announcement is the first of several expected steps toward using federal stimulus money to fill budget gaps in education. The proposal today will not address additional funding for higher education, which next year would be $142 million below fiscal 2008 levels, but administration officials say they might also use stimulus money to increase funding levels for public colleges and universities.
All told, the state is expecting to receive $819 million in federal money to spend on public education over the next 27 months. Sending $168 million to local school districts next year means $651 million would still be available to spend on higher education and other areas of education, according to an administration official.
Schools would also receive between $850 million and $900 million directly from the federal government through existing programs, according to administration calculations. Competitive grants could also be available starting in the fall.
Mayor Kimberley Driscoll of Salem said the federal stimulus money would provide a lifeline as the city is considering layoffs of school employees.
"If this funding proposal moves forward, we would not only be able to avert layoffs, but we could restore some of the things that have been eliminated over the past two years," she said. Salem would have a funding gap of $2.4 million to keep services the same as they are this year, but would receive $3.2 million through the governor's plan.
Patrick, who has had to significantly scale back his plans for education improvement, made education funding a major focus of his lobbying during several trips to Washington and multiple phone conversations with congressional leaders. He contends that the federal government should consider education as much of a priority as other components of the stimulus package, such as infrastructure improvements and income tax breaks.
President Obama personally called Patrick last month to thank him for his work in securing education funds in the final federal legislation, according to administration officials, and the approach to including education funding was referred to on at least one conference call from the White House as the "Patrick-Doyle Amendment," referring to Patrick and Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin.
The education funding is only one component of a much wider budget debate simmering on Beacon Hill. House and Senate lawmakers have said the budget picture is getting much worse than anticipated and are planning debates over several tax-raising proposals that could include increasing the sales tax, along with other plans Patrick has put forward to raise taxes on sales of candy, alcohol, and hotel stays.
And though the governor is planning to add money for local schools, other municipal services will still see cuts. Patrick has proposed a local aid cut of $375 million next year, which would be lowered to $220 million if the Legislature approves his plan to increase meals and hotel taxes.
Each year, the state sends nearly $4 billion to communities for public schools. The budget proposal Patrick released in January recommends keeping that amount the same next year, but local officials have warned that, in essence, they will have to cut their budgets because of inflation and raises for unionized employees.
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.
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Email greene_sjcgants2_met.jpg Governor Deval Patrick While state and local education officials do not know whether the money will be enough to counteract the deep effects of the historic recession, which continues to erode the taxes used to pay for public education, it represents a rare financial windfall for municipalities. ){kind=link}
"Governor offers $168m to education"
TRANSLATION:
I governor Deval Patrick will write checks in the amount of $168 million dollars on YOUR grandchildren's bank accounts and charge YOUR children 300% interest until they have repaid this debt.
In return for this gracious act, I as governor except public cheers and continued campaign support from all teachers (or else).
Thank you.
......ok,.....and how much is Ted Kennedy's cut of this $168 mil?
Ok so where is Boston???
Complete missuse of stimulus money. It can't be used to fund town budgets. Calling it for schools is the classic red herring, it's budget money.
More redistribution of wealth...why are half of the towns neglected in this "hand out"? So, one town makes its own internal cuts and scales back to manage their finances and gets nothing - while another doesn't meet up and gets the handout. Sigh....
I guess the town of Weymouth must have po the Governor because I don't see it on the list.
state aid should be distributed per capita.
Adams will get $30.00 - way to go!
I am encouranged by the money that is being funded for education, but discouraged to see that our town that is struggling to keep afloat and with the pain of layoffs was not mentioned on the list to receive aid. Can you tel l me why?? My town is Winthrop
What about Boston? Most of the BPS schools won't meet the standards regulated by the Teachers Union...
This shows the inequity of school funding. I work for a middle to low income town that is looking at cutting 42 total positions and is not on the list. Meanwhile the town of Wellesley will be receiving over a million dollars. That would keep my local school open, but sadly it will close. West Bridgewater is in danger of not reaching the minimum ONLY because it takes in about a million dollars in school choice funds that ARE NOT COUNTED in the funding formula, so they're on the list. Brockton gets millions while they still have EXTRA teachers in every elementary school. What a disgusting display of political laziness.
Good to see Belmont, Wellesley and Winchester on the list! Too bad for Boston!
Add Reading and Westford to the list of wealthier towns that are getting funding, and Medford to the list of "have nots" that aren't
Glad to see Duxbury and Wellesley on the list !
Just because people don't want to spend their money on the schools shouldn't allow them to receive money
Yeah, great to see the rich suburbs on the list and not the capital city that subsidizes the suburbs with jobs and economic activity.
my Boston School kid doesn't mind going without ANY ARTS PROGRAM if it means the underprivileged kids in Brookline, Acton-Boxborough, Wellesley get something important.
My Boston school kid will sleep better knowing his school is LOSING ITS ARTS AND SPORTS PROGRAMS so that the already deprived students of Acton-Boxborough, Ipswich, Belmont, Wellesley and Needham can get something they need.
How is it that Boston is not on this list?!?
At my son's Boston Public school, they're trying to raise money for projector bulbs by passing the hat around in homerooms, asking the students for contributions. Kids get extra credit in Reading class if they can bring their own copy of the book, since there aren't enough copies to go around. The current budget proposal would have my son's school eliminate sports, phys ed, and health, and decimating the arts, as well as require seventh graders to spend 30% of their time in large, barely-supervised study halls. How is it that under these circumstances, Boston doesn't qualify for help?
To bad they left of public colleges. Get a good education in grades K-12, but can't afford to pay the $20K per year for college. Oh, I forgot loans us parents can take out, amazing.
Where does my tax money go to beside helping foriegn countries and the war. Oh I know AIG and those bonuses. I better stop!
The inequity is outrageous and appalling.
Where are charter schools? The state has just cut their funding and now they are subsidizing WELLESLEY? Something definitely looks fishy to me
One more reason to merge school districts between neighboring towns.
Are there any good restaurants in Adams? If enough of us go there to eat we could pimp up the local economy and raise funding for the schools.
Second graders only get one chance at second grade. ...we can give our students the education they deserve and avoid short changing their future," Patrick said ...
Well, Boston students only get one chance at first, second, third .. grade. Our schools are impoverished and facing a $100+ million dollar cut next year, how could Boston be left out? Wellesley! Belmont! Their regular education spending per pupil is already twice that of a regular ed student in Boston - how can this be equity?? The governor is shortchanging the future of Boston students.
The members of the Legislature representing Boston are keenly aware of the glaring omission in the stimulus funding proposal and their duty to fight tirelessly to restore equity.
Do not let the childeren down. Their future is being mortgaged away under the current efforts to right the economy. For them to be prepaerd, we must not falter in our efforts to deliver the necessary resources of a world class education.
It would be nice if they could explain how they came up with these numbers. Our town barely got enough money for 1 teacher. Wellesley gets over $1 million? Is this based on voting percentages? Why are there so many towns left off this list? I agree, that it should be per capita or per pupil in the school system.
Deval Patrick PROMISED 1000 more cops on the streets.....and he's pumping all of him money into education....have the teachers put out fires and respond to gun calls since they aren't losing their jobs. I CANNOT WAIT TO VOTE AGAINST PATRICK!!!!!!
This works out perfectly. The children in these schools will be paying $448 Million to reeimburse the $168 Million dollars Deval is pretending to give to education. That is correct, we must pay the Feds 2.6 times what we receive from the stimulus.
I hope they learn well... they'll need to understand economics better than the lemming voters of Massachusetts. They think the $168 Million is free. Our children will find out soon enought that it is not. And they will condemn us for it (or at least Democrats).
It is disgusting to see millions going to affluent suburbs while the public schools in the city of Boston get nothing. My son attends a Boston Public School that will lose 20% of its teaching staff, will eliminate honors courses, gym, guidance counselors and any pretense of quality education. Students wil spend 20% of their day in a cafeteria, 100 at a time, with two adults supervising. One Boston public high is about to eliminate all foreign languages due to budget cuts so the students can be really prepared for college and the new global economy.
As long as the media, including the Globe, reports this in an accepting manner then the governor will get away with completely screwing over the almost 60,000 children who attend public school in the city of Boston.
I am amazed, shocked, and angry that none of the $168 million for education will be provided to the Boston public Schools. The BPS as the largest district in the state with a widely diverse school population is facing a devastating budget gap. BPS needs help -- and quickly. The time has come for the Mayor and the BPS School Committee to stand up and appeal to the Governor's good sense: direct a substantial amount of the Federal education money to BPS to cover the serious shortfall in the BPS budget!
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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