MassBudget: FY 2019 state budget provides modest increases to early education, local aid

And a chance to give your feedback on our Budget Monitors

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. Sept. 6, 2018 FY 2019 state budget provides modest increases to early education, local aid And a chance to give your feedback on MassBudget's Budget Monitors, below With the national economy in the ninth year of an economic recovery, budget writers in Massachusetts were able this year to provide modest increases in funding for early education, local aid, and several other important investments. This new funding does not, in many cases, reverse the budget cuts imposed after the tax cuts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. After accounting for increases in this year's budget (and inflation) state spending on early education and care is down 17 percent since 2001. Funding for Local Aid is down 40 percent. And funding for Environment and Recreation programs is down 30 percent. The cost of tax cuts and the long-term trend in health care costs have limited the Commonwealth's ability to make investments in education, infrastructure, and other building blocks of healthy communities and a strong economy. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center's latest Budget Monitor finds that the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Budget (officially called the General Appropriations Act or GAA for short) includes several new initiatives, including the following: A restructuring and funding increase for adult mental health services. The reforms are aimed at providing more coordinated, standardized, and consistent treatment that will better align with health care systems, and will be more comprehensive, particularly for people who also have substance use disorders. An increase in the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), from 23 percent of the federal credit amount to 30 percent. Research has shown that - in addition to encouraging people to work and helping families to make ends meet - the EITC improves health outcomes for mothers and children, and boosts children's academic performance and lifelong earnings. A new process to provide greater scrutiny and reporting on "tax expenditures," which are special tax exemptions, deductions, credits, or other rules that result in forgone revenue with the intention of advancing other policy goals. The state will begin to evaluate the administration, fiscal impact, and cost-effectiveness of the Commonwealth's tax expenditures on a rotating schedule. For procedural reasons this section was ultimately enacted separately from the budget. While the Legislature overrode virtually all of the Governor's vetoes, one significant reform didn't survive the veto process: a proposal by the Legislature to remove a restriction that bars families from receiving Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) benefits for a child conceived while the family was receiving public assistance. The Budget Monitor at this link describes the final funding levels and significant policy initiatives in each major section of the budget. Links from the Table of Contents below allow readers to jump to specific sections. Each section also provides links to our online budget tools including our Budget Browser (which provides funding information for every line item in the state budget going back to FY 2001) and, where applicable, to our Children's Budget. We want to hear from you Our Budget Monitors provide extensive information on each budget proposal starting with the release of the Governor's budget in the winter through the entire legislative process until the final General Appropriations Act is signed into law in the summer. In order to make our Monitors useful to you, our readers, please fill out this short (one-minute) survey to let us know how you use our Monitor and how we might improve it. Thank you from the MassBudget Team. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 15 Court Square, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02108 Sent by nberger@massbudget.org in collaboration with Try it free today

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center's latest Budget Monitor

MassBudget: Feeding Students, Counting Kids, Funding Schools

Six Recommendations for Improvement

Feeding Students, Counting Kids, Funding Schools: Six Recommendations for Improvement To expand educational opportunity by making sure that more students are well-fed and ready to learn, the federal government has created a program that allows schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students in districts with large numbers of low-income students. Schools that implement this program, called Community Eligibility, no longer collect paper forms from every child to determine who is eligible for free or reduced price meals. Instead, schools use a data matching system to count students as low income for school meals purposes when they are enrolled in other programs that support low-income families. This data-matching direct certification process improves efficiency and expands access to school meals. The interaction of this program and our school funding formula has, however, led to some challenges. MassBudget's new policy brief Counting Kids at School: 6 Steps to Better Numbers, presents strategies to fix these unintended consequences. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has recognized the challenges and has already made significant improvements to its data systems. At the direction of the Legislature, DESE is developing further recommendations, which will be final by December 19. Based on MassBudget's ongoing research on direct certification and its impact on Chapter 70 funding, this new brief presents six recommendations that could help the Commonwealth to achieve a more accurate count of low-income students. You can read MassBudget's six recommendations in the new policy brief HERE (link). Related MassBudget resources: To read about implementation of the Direct Certification program in Massachusetts, read Direct Certification for School Meals: Feeding Students, Counting Kids, Funding Schools. MassBudget's Children's Budget provides a concise description and funding history of the School Food Programs and Chapter 70 Aid. See the Kids Count Data Center data on Free and Reduced Price Lunch Enrollment Rates by School District and Economically Disadvantaged Students by School District. For MassBudget's video and explanation of the Chapter 70 program, see Demystifying the Chapter 70 Funding Formula: How the Massachusetts Education Funding System Works. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 15 Court Square, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02108 Sent by nberger@massbudget.org in collaboration with Try it free today

Changes to curriculum, state funding, and the school calendar the consistent thread

The School Committee recognized the FHS boys hockey team as the State Division 1 Champions with plaques on Tuesday. 2 of the 4 team captains helped present the full team to the School Committee assisted by Coach Spillane. The 2 captains missing also participate in a spring sport and were unable to attend.

2 of the 4 team captains helped present the full team to the School Committee assisted by Coach Spillane

Digital learning and the changes to the science curriculum were key presentations to the School Committee. Additional details and a combination of screen shots from one presentation and a copy of the other presentation are contained in the live reported notes linked below.

A resolution to address state funding of Chapter 70 was also presented and passed by a 6-1 vote. Committee member Vanessa Bilello presented an articulate and thoughtful summary of the reasons for the resolution. The lone vote against was cast by Committee member John Jewel who wanted the increase in funds but objected to wording that seemed to have strings attached restricting on how the fund could be used. 

Two proposal for changes to the school year calendar were also discussed. While one of the calendars proposed was reported out by the subcommittee to contain 'no changes', it does make at least one change that would need to be negotiated with the teachers union. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is shown on the proposals as full days. They were typically half days until about 2007 when they became a no school day in recognition of the attendance patterns for both students and faculty.

The School Dept will bring the proposals to the teachers union for further review and discussion before the next School Committee meeting. The Committee plans to approve a calendar for the 2017-2018 school year at the May 10 meeting. If the desired changes are approved, they want to provide parents and the community enough time to plan for them.


Option 1
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczalVVTG5IZzNFSWZxT0dUaUdnLV9rY0ZhZWpF/view?usp=sharing

Option 2
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczcF92Qmt0WklWN0U/view?usp=sharing

representatives of the Digital Learning Committee at the School Committee meeting

Additional photos and notes from the meeting can be found here:

• Live reporting: Action items to closing
• Live reporting: Discussion only items - Chapter 70...
• Live reporting: Digital Learning
• Live reporting: School Committee - Apr 26, 2016

Resolution Calling for Full Funding of the Foundation Budget Review Commission’s Recommendations

School Committee to consider endorsing this resolution on the funding of Chapter 70.



The calculation is probably due to being re-done. In doing so, one needs to be mindful that while Franklin has benefited from the calculation based upon population growth, now that there is no significant growth we need to be careful to not lose what we do have. Franklin can not afford to replace any significant percent of the approx. $27 million it gets yearly.

All the information you might want on Chapter 70 can be found here
http://www.doe.mass.edu/finance/chapter70/

ma.gov

MassBudget: Feeding Students, Counting Kids, Distributing Chapter 70 Aid: Two New Briefs from MassBudget

Feeding Students, Counting Kids, Distributing Chapter 70 Aid: Two New Briefs from MassBudget    MassBudget is releasing two new papers analyzing the issues below, available HERE and HERE. To expand educational opportunity by making sure that more students are well-fed and ready to learn, the federal government has created a program that allows schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students in districts with large numbers of low-income students. Schools that implement this program, called Community Eligibility, no longer collect paper forms from every child to determine who is eligible for free or reduced price meals. Instead, schools use a data matching system to automatically enroll for school meals those students who are already enrolled in other programs that support low-income families. This program improves efficiency and expands access to school meals. The transition to this new system has created logistical challenges for other school programs - in particular, our Chapter 70 school funding formula - that have for many years used income data collected through the traditional paper forms. The Governor's budget, following a recommendation of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), proposes some reforms that seek to address these challenges. It also proposes additional reforms in the way aid is provided to districts with large numbers of low-income students. In Proposed Low-Income Student Changes Would Have Varied Chapter 70 Impact we describe the proposals, identify promising elements, and detail ways in which the proposals do not solve some important problems. Specifically, by using data that dramatically undercount low-income students in some districts - but not in others - this proposal leads some districts to receive significantly less aid for their schools than they would have received if their low-income students were being counted more accurately. This brief includes Chapter 70 detail under two alternative scenarios for every district in the Commonwealth. In Direct Certification for School Meals: Feeding Students, Counting Kids, Funding Schools we describe a number of solutions that would improve the effectiveness of the direct certification system and its ability to accurately identify low-income students. These solutions include extending the automatic matching system and including all relevant programs, improving the ability of the automated program to identify matches, expanding the ability of schools to resolve partial data matches, and making sure that all low-income families are enrolled in the food and health care programs for which they are eligible. By delaying the use of new direct certification data in the Chapter 70 formula and implementing the strategies that could make that data more comprehensive, the state could get a more accurate count of low-income kids for our school funding system and other programs. These efforts would also have the benefit of ensuring that families are enrolled in programs for which they are eligible, helping more kids and families avoid hunger and stay healthy. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 15 Court Square, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02108 Sent by nberger@massbudget.org in collaboration with screen grab of MassBudget report

Senate Ways and Means Releases FY 2016 Budget Recommendations

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means today announced a $38.01 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2016. The budget makes strategic, targeted investments in a variety of areas to create new opportunities, strengthen networks of support and encourage overall economic growth for individuals, families and communities across the Commonwealth.

"These budget line items are more than just numbers," said Senate Committee on Ways and Means Chair Karen Spilka. "They reflect shared Senate values and our commitment to foster upward economic mobility and greater equality for all residents. Our goal is to lift all families and lay the foundation for shared prosperity."

"This year's budget makes strategic targeted investments in education and economic development that will undoubtedly strengthen the Commonwealth's economy, while also providing critical aid to our most vulnerable populations," said Senator Sal DiDomenico, Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. "It has been a pleasure working alongside Chairwoman Spilka, and I am proud of the important investments that we have made to keep the Commonwealth moving forward."

"Congratulations to Senator Spilka and the members of the Committee on Ways and Means for producing a budget that is fiscally responsible while making targeted investments in education, workforce training and economic development to help working families across Massachusetts," said Senate President Stan Rosenberg. "This budget will continue our position as leader in these areas and also takes care of our most vulnerable residents. I look forward to a spirited debate."

The FY 2016 budget includes $38.01B in total spending, an increase of 3.1% over FY 2015 spending, and invests in key areas of local aid, education, economic development and services for vulnerable and under-served populations.

The budget reflects the Senate's continued commitment to local aid for cities and towns.

·         $4.51B for Chapter 70 education aid, allowing for a minimum increase of $25 per pupil and bringing school districts closer to their target spending through 50% effort reduction.
·         $979.8M for Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) for community investments in education, public safety, roads and bridges and health care.
·         $271.6M to fully fund the Special Education Circuit Breaker for the 4^th straight year.
·         $7.5M for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism and $5M for Local Tourist Councils.
·         $12M for the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

In addition to Chapter 70 education aid and the Special Education Circuit Breaker, the budget invests in education at all levels: from early education to college to workforce development.

·         $17.9M total increase for Department of Early Education and Care accounts, including $12M to reduce the waitlist for childcare services and $14.8M for the Children's Trust Fund Healthy Families program.
·         $1.5M for the STEM Pipeline Fund.
·         $1.5M for the Massachusetts Computing Attainment Network (MassCAN) initiative.
·         $2.8M for the Connecting Activities public-private partnership that links high school students with hands-on learning opportunities, mentoring and job placement.
·         $12.5M increase for State Universities and Community Colleges and $19.3M increase for the University of Massachusetts.

The budget targets economic development and workforce training initiatives to create opportunities and connect people of all income levels with the skills they need to join the workforce and secure good, well-paying jobs. The budget makes investments and establishes new initiatives to help low-income families become self-sufficient, get the unemployed and long-term unemployed back to work and support sectors of the economy that drive economic growth.

Investments and initiatives to promote self-sufficiency among low-income individuals and families and recipients of Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) support include:

• $12.1M for the Employment Services Program to help individuals find jobs and resolve barriers to employment, including skills training and job search assistance.
• $5M for the Pathways to Self-Sufficiency Program.
• An increase to the clothing allowance for needy families to $200 per child, the highest in the history of this stipend.
• A new $1M Family Well-Being Plan pilot program to promote educational and employment opportunities for participants exempt from the DTA work requirement.

Efforts to help the unemployed and underemployed update their skills and find jobs include:

• $2M for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund to train unemployed and low-wage workers for high demand industries.
• $1.2M for a new Training Resources and Internship Networks (TRAIN) grant program to specifically target the long-term unemployed through partnerships with community colleges to provide training and internship opportunities.
• $11.5M for the Youth-At-Risk Summer Jobs program.

The budget supports the sectors of the Massachusetts economy that drive economic growth, targeting investments in the innovation and knowledge-based economy.

• $15M for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center out of the consolidated net surplus.
• $3M for the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
• $1.5M for the Big Data Innovation and Workforce Fund.

• $1.5M for the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership and $945K for a Precision Manufacturing Program.

• $750K for Regional Economic Development Grants.

In addition, the budget invests in populations that are often under-served, funding services for the homeless, individuals struggling with substance abuse and the disabled.

The budget invests in the full spectrum of homelessness prevention and housing support services to strengthen links to permanent housing solutions, including:

·         $154.9M for Emergency Assistance Family Shelters.
·         $85.4M for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program to fund between 600 and 750 new rental assistance vouchers.
·         $44.7M for Homeless Individuals Assistance.
·         $4.5M for the Alternative Housing Voucher Program, the rental assistance program for people with disabilities.
·         $2M for housing and supportive services for unaccompanied homeless youth.
·         A new $7M reserve to fund flexible short-term assistance to divert homeless families, or families at risk of becoming homeless, from shelters to stable housing.

This budget continues the Senate's mission to break the cycle of addiction through investments in substance abuse prevention, recovery and treatment, including:

• $10M for the Substance Abuse Trust Fund to fund a range of treatment services, including detoxification, clinical stabilization, transitional support, residential services and outpatient treatment.
• $5M for more than 150 new clinical stabilization beds.
• $1.5M for grants to school districts to hire mental health and substance abuse counselors.
• $3.1M for Recovery High Schools, including $1M to establish two new schools.
• A new Municipal Naloxone Bulk Purchase Program to allow municipalities to purchase the lifesaving overdose reversal drug commonly referred to as Narcan at discounted rates.

The budget also invests in tools and resources to help individuals with disabilities to be as self-sufficient, independent and productive as possible in their communities, including skills and job training, housing and support services. In a new Senate initiative, the budget provides $250K for the Department of Developmental Disabilities to identify best practices, provide training for direct care staff and collect data to meet the needs of aging individuals with disabilities.

The budget also invests in services for at-risk youth, seniors and veterans, public health and mental health programs and innovative ways to improve access to justice and reduce recidivism.

screen grab of  Senate Ways and Means web page

Senators can file amendments to the Senate Ways and Means recommendations until Thursday at 5 p.m. The full Senate will then debate the Fiscal Year 2016 budget in formal session beginning Tuesday, May 19^th. The full FY 2016 Senate Ways and Means Budget Recommendations are available on the Massachusetts legislature's website: https://malegislature.gov/Budget/FY2016/Senate.