A bill proposed to the Massachusetts State Legislature Tuesday could provide more money for the most underfunded school districts across the state.
The bill, proposed by Rep. Lori Ehrlich, of Marblehead, would require the state to follow through on its pledge to fund 17.5 percent of every community’s foundation budget within two years.
Each school district’s minimum budget, its foundation budget, is calculated by the state through a complex process referred to as Chapter 70.
District-specific variables are put into a formula to produce the foundation budget and the amount of funding the state is willing to provide through Chapter 70. Each school district is then required to make up the difference between the two numbers through local taxes.
This process has not been totally equitable, Ehrlich said.
“Some communities based on those factors, sometimes for some fluky reasons, ended up with very little funding with the majority of the burden on the local taxpayer,” she said.
Superintendent of Swampscott Public Schools Lynne Celli told the Joint Committee on Education how her school district had been hurt by the Chapter 70 formula.
“We are one of 58 communities that have been underfunded, and for Swampscott, that means $500,000 a year,” Celli said. “It has impacted our ability to deliver the skills necessary for the 21st century . . . we have reduced our staff to the bare bones.”
She said that $500,000 is equivalent to 10 teachers every year.
“So that has really impacted us tremendously,” she said.
Ehrlich said that the legislature has attempted to raise the minimum level of funding in the past.
“Back in 2006, with all good intentions, the legislature pledged to raise the minimum funding for all communities to 17.5 percent over a five-year period,” Ehrlich said. “When it got to the final year the economy fell apart and the pledge never came through.”
She said that some towns have more difficulty finding funds than others.
“Some communities caught up, but unfortunately for communities like Swampscott it translated into $500,000 a year,” Ehrlich said. “That might not look like a lot to someone used to looking at a big city budget, but it translates to a lot for a small town.”
Ehrlich said that smaller communities were dependent on that promise as they hired teachers, bought textbooks and worked the budgets.
In addition to Swampscott, schools in Nahant, Saugus, Ipswich and Marblehead would be affected by the legislation, Ehrlich said. She said she felt good about the bill’s chances after Tuesday’s meeting.
“I think they recognized that it was a commitment that the Legislature made and they need to follow through on it,” she said. “But with the legislative process I’ve learned to never count my eggs before they hatch.”
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