The budget would increase Chapter 70 education aid by $164 million to cities and towns — $18.5 million over Patrick’s proposal. It would be a 4 percent increase over this year’s, bringing the Chapter 70 funding to $4.15 billion.
Dempsey said the $164 million increase guarantees each school district a minimum of $40 more per student.
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The House budget also includes $221.5 million for the special education costs for the state’s school districts — an $8.4 million increase from last year.
State Rep. Alice Peisch, D-Wellesley, said the funds help school districts provide mandated, high-cost programs for special education students. Many schools pay tuition for those students who require an outside program or facility.
The House budget also includes $45 million for regional school transportation, a $2 million increase from last year. A new line item in the House proposal provides $11.3 million to reimburse communities for providing special busing services for homeless students.
Jeffrey Roy of Franklin, Massachusetts has entered the race for State Representative in the 10th Norfolk District. He is seeking election to the seat that Jim Vallee will be vacating in December. The district includes all of Franklin and precincts 2, 3 and 4 in Medway.
Roy is an attorney who has maintained a trial practice in Boston for the past 26 years. He is also a member of the Franklin Town Council and served on the Franklin School Committee from 2001 through 2011. He is the current chair of Franklin's Democratic Town Committee.
"I have considered entering this race for a long time," noted Roy. "When Representative Vallee made his announcement last week to step down, I knew it was my time to step up. It has been an honor and privilege to serve Franklin at the local level, but much work lies ahead at the state level, and I will bring my commitment, dedication and experience to those tasks.
"Jim Vallee is one of the most honorable public servants I have had the pleasure to know. He has served Franklin admirably and has been a great friend to our community. His assistance with securing a new Franklin High is the most recent of the many ways he has helped build the Franklin/Medway area into one of the most desirable places to live in America. He is a model legislator and has been a helpful advocate on the school and town issues. It would be an honor to succeed him at the State House.”
Roy grew up in Milford and he and his wife Maureen moved to Franklin in 1986. They have three children -- Alicia (21), Natalie (18), and Jeff Jr (15) -- all of whom were educated in the Franklin Public Schools.
Roy is a 1986 cum laude graduate of Boston College Law School in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. He received his undergraduate degree from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine in 1983, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Bates Student newspaper. In addition, he received engineering training at Worcester Polytechnic Institute from 1979 to 1981 and one year of legal training at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.
His entire legal career has been primarily devoted to the representation of injured persons. He specializes in product liability cases, automobile accidents, construction accidents, and other work-related injuries. He has represented clients at all levels of the trial and appellate courts in Massachusetts. In addition, he has appeared in cases before the New Hampshire Supreme Court and Superior Court, the Federal District Courts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the Rhode Island Superior Court, Colorado Superior Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He was sworn in last year as a member of the United States Supreme Court bar.
"I am humbled by the outpouring of support I have received from my friends and colleagues about my candidacy," said Roy. "I look forward to engaging in a healthy campaign and demonstrating why I am the best choice to represent the citizens of Franklin and Medway in the next legislature on Beacon Hill.
"This campaign and election will be about the type of government we want and the type of things we choose to do together as people. If elected, I will be a fierce advocate for Franklin and Medway. My 14 years of service to Franklin demonstrates my commitment to the task at hand and provides a primer on how I will perform as a legislator."
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The longtime lawmaker announced yesterday he won’t seek re-election for his House seat in the fall.
“I was a very young guy when I started,” said the Franklin Democrat, first elected in 1994 when he was 27. “Now, I have three little kids.”
“That really was my driving factor (in resigning),” said Vallee, referring to Lucy, 5, Beatrice, 3, and Sam, 8 months. “I’d like to be able to spend time with them on the weekends and be home at night to be able to read with them.”
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