Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced a 100-percent increase in tax revenue Friday for unrestricted local aid, a substantial increase in Chapter 70 local education funding and Community Compact Information Technology Grant Program funding, according to a Friday press release.
The Chapter 70 program is the primary method of disseminating state funding to public elementary and secondary schools within the commonwealth. It also outlines spending requirements and costs for each district, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s website.
The Community Compact IT program, managed by Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, administers grants up to $400,000 to assist communities with IT projects aimed at “improving local fiscal policies, sustainable energy practices and advancing economic development and affordable housing,” according to the release.
Mark Steffen, a spokesperson for Baker, said the Community Compact IT program has collaborated with several Boston-area towns, including Brookline, Chelsea, Malden, Revere and Winthrop, and has plans for expansion.
“The lieutenant governor has met with well more than the number of communities that have officially signed compacts,” Steffen said.
The local aid allocation will increase to more than $42 million in the 2017 fiscal year proposal, while the education funding will see a $72.1 million increase and $2 million will be allocated to the IT capital grant program, according to the release.
In his campaign, Baker promised to grow the cities and towns of the commonwealth at the same rate at which the state government grows, and this is the manifestation of that pledge in action, Steffen said.
“Lt. Governor Polito and I are proud to follow through on our commitment to ensure that the Commonwealth’s cities and towns are benefitting from the grassroots economic growth driven by our communities,” Baker said in the release. “These investments are key to continue building stronger, safer communities for our families and ensuring schools across the Commonwealth are able to prepare our children for success.”
Steffen explained that the announcement of greater funding is on par with Baker’s promise to expand opportunity within the commonwealth.
“It demonstrates the governor’s commitment to cities and towns,” Steffen said. “It’s important that building great communities involves making sure no city or town is left behind, as the economy makes it possible for us as a state to grow.”
Jonathan Zaff, a professor in Boston University’s School of Education, said any increased funding for local school districts should be greatly appreciated.
“[Chapter] 70 [funding] is a huge component of the state spending, so to see sort of a promise to increase that the state support is keeping pace with the overall growth is definitely a good indication of where they’re going,” Zaff said. “That will help a lot of districts keep pace with their students’ needs.”
However, Zaff also said that Chapter 70 is merely a baseline for public school funding, and must be paired with additional support in order to be effective.
“The hope is that the increase in funding for 70 will be coupled with other support for the higher-needs districts within the state,” Zaff said. “The state has been pretty good with that over time, so it will just be interesting to see if the increase in 70 funding will be an indication of increases for other support for higher need districts.”
Several Boston residents said they were interested in increased funding for public schools and thought it was a worthwhile use of commonwealth revenue.
Terry Dolan, 67, of Dorchester, said though there are many ways in which the money could be spent, she believes Baker will put revenue to good use.
“I worked in state government for 25 years, and there is no end of good ways to spend money,” she said. “I trust Baker in his decision. I think it’s an important investment.”
Christopher Schmitt, 35, of Fenway, said any funding put toward public education is valuable.
“Having come from a poor public school system,” he said, “I think any money you can give to public school is extraordinarily important.”
John Marston, 36, of Jamaica Plain, said he would not be affected personally but still believed public education funding to be a good idea.
“Not having children of my own, I kind of don’t care about schools,” he said, “so for me, personally, it’s not useful, but it definitely seems like a good way to spend money.”
