Chapter 70, General Aid to Education
The House Ways & Means Budget guarantees that every school district is able to meet its minimum foundation funding level with a recommended $75 million increase over FY 04. No operating school district will receive less Chapter 70 aid than they received this year.

In FY 04 in addition to reductions in Chapter 70 aid, school districts were negatively impacted by cuts to lottery aid and additional assistance. The House Ways & Means Budget level funds both lottery and additional assistance accounts. Please refer to the M.A.S.C. website for your city, town or regional aid.

School Building Assistance
As you are aware from our January 28, 2004 Bulletin the Governor proposed to clear the S.B.A approved project waiting list, while keeping the current reimbursement rates, in four years. The House Ways & Means Budget promises to clear the entire waiting list within 3.5 years, while also maintaining the current reimbursement rates. Ways & Means proposes to create a new independent authority for the construction of school buildings, and has dedicated twenty percent of the existing state sales tax revenue to help pay for this program. The proposed authority would bond only for the state’s share of future projects. The current 20-year bond cycle would be expanded to 25 years.

Special Education Circuit Breaker
Current law requires that the cost for special education instruction shall be reimbursed at 75% of all the approved costs that exceed 4 times the state average per pupil foundation budget. This account was substantially underfunded in FY 04; however, the Ways & Means Budget is proposing an $80 million increase over current year reimbursement levels bringing the total expenditure to $201.6 million. While this increase in funding will not meet the statutory requirement it is a very significant improvement.Current law (MGL, Chapter 71B, section 5A) has been amended by the Ways and Means Budget to require four equal quarterly payments. This amendment changes a requirement that districts shall receive 50% of their annual reimbursements by the end of the first quarter. Also quarterly reimbursements are made subject to appropriation.

Charter School Reimbursement
Charter School reimbursement to sending school districts was funded in the current year at $13 million. House Ways & Means has recommended adding approximately $24.7 million to this account to provide full funding. Restoring monies to this account has been a priority of M.A.S.C.

Regional School Transportation
Regional school transportation funding has been increased by nearly fifty percent to a total of $38 million from the current $26 million appropriation. This account has also been one of M.A.S.C.’s priorities.

Metco Increase
House Ways & Means has recommended a $2 million increase for the Metco program, which brings funding to $15.6 million.

Special Education Tuition Rates
The state sets the rates that special education approved private schools charge for their services. The House Ways and Means Budget requires that all such rates remain at the level of the prior year except for programs that qualify for extraordinary relief or for programs that did not charge the maximum allowable amount in FY04.

Non-resident Vocational School Transportation
This law was amended during 2003 to delete a provision to allow the sending school district to receive 50% state reimbursement for the transportation of non-resident students. The House Ways and Means Budget rewrites MGL Chapter 71, secion 8A as follows: "subject to appropriation, and upon voting to provide transportation to said students [the school committee of the city or town in which the student resides] shall be eligible for state reimbursement to the maximum extent of 50% of the amounts so expended; provided, that applicants for said reimbursement shall not charge fees for more than 50% of the cost of said transportation."

Other Budgetary Accounts
The House Budget has proposed level funding for most other accounts including early childhood programs, adult basic education and school nutrition programs.