The House Ways & Means Committee budget is now before the full House, and this is a critical opportunity to strengthen investments in public education. MASC is urging members to contact their state representatives and ask them to support key amendments that will provide additional resources for school districts. To get started, you can find the template email below or download it here. Then, find your state representative using the Massachusetts Legislature’s “Find My Legislator” tool, and personalize and send the message to make your voice heard.
Email Template
Subject: Please Support House Budget Amendments to Invest in our Public Schools
I am writing to you today as a member of the [City/Town] School Committee and a constituent to urge that you co-sponsor and actively support the amendments to H.5500 listed below that would provide additional, urgently needed resources to the Commonwealth’s public schools.
The House Ways and Means budget acknowledges the financial pressures bearing down on school districts and proposes several important steps to begin to mitigate the impact. These include fulfilling the Student Opportunity Act, exceeding minimum student aid increases from last year with a $160 per-pupil amount, and adding funds for special education.
From my perspective on the School Committee, we continue to see firsthand the strain these challenges place on our students, educators, and local budgets. While these proposals are meaningful, there is more we can do together to ensure all of our public schools have the resources they need to provide the high-quality education that our students deserve.
That is why I urge you to co-sponsor and actively support the following amendments that would further strengthen the House budget (in order numerically):
Amendment #41 filed by Rep. Margaret Scarsdale – Ensuring Adequate and Equitable Funding for Public Education – This amendment would create a commission to study and make recommendations for adequately and equitably funding preK-12 public education in the Commonwealth. As the state closes in on full implementation of the Student Opportunity Act, now is the time to conduct a top-to-bottom review and chart a new path forward that ensures the long-term fiscal health of our public schools.
Amendment #46 filed by Rep. Margaret Scarsdale – Regional School Transportation – School transportation costs continue to rise, including in regional districts that cover larger geographical areas. This amendment would ensure full funding of the regional school transportation reimbursement program.
Amendment #316 filed by Rep. Jim Hawkins – In District School Transportation – Currently, non-regional school districts do not receive reimbursements for the transportation costs associated with regular day and in-district special education programs. This amendment would provide districts with a 25% reimbursement for regular day and in-district special education transportation costs in FY2027 and establish a funding schedule to ensure full funding of the Commonwealth’s total reimbursement obligation as of FY2030.
Amendment #459 filed by Rep. Leigh Davis – Rural School Aid – Rural schools face a host of unique fiscal challenges and often have costs that are not reflected in the foundation budget for school funding. This amendment would provide important relief to rural school districts by significantly increasing rural school aid to $60 million in FY2027, which is in line with the recommendation of the Rural Schools Commission.
Amendment #1066 filed by Rep. Brandy Fluker-Reid – Charter School Reimbursements – This amendment would add a fourth year to the charter school reimbursement schedule and raise the reimbursement rate in the second year, thereby increasing funding to public school districts so that they can continue to deliver a high-quality public education.
Amendment #1203 filed by Rep. Jim Hawkins – Strengthening the Special Education Circuit Breaker Program – This amendment would provide urgently needed relief to districts by significantly strengthening the Special Education Circuit Breaker Program. Specifically, it would increase the reimbursement rate from 75% to 90% of eligible special education costs and lower the cost threshold for expenses that are eligible under the program.
Amendment #1284 filed by Rep. Orlando Ramos – Chapter 70 Inflation Adjustment – This amendment would make a technical fix to the Chapter 70 formula so that state funding to public school districts keeps pace with inflation over time. Absent this fix, Chapter 70 will not account for actual inflation above the current 4.5 percent inflation cap and districts will never receive the real-dollar aid they were promised under the Student Opportunity Act.
Amendment #1350 filed by Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian – Literacy Launch – This amendment would match the Governor’s investment for the second year of a high-dosage early literacy tutoring initiative. The program supports public schools and districts in partnering with approved providers to address pandemic-related learning loss and accelerate literacy growth for students in grades K–3.
Amendment #1495 filed by Rep. tackey Chan – Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative – This amendment increases the appropriation by $17.3M from $5M to $22.3M for the CPPI. The Governor has stated her goal of delivering universal, high-quality preschool funding for four-year-olds in all Gateway Cities by the end of 2026. This goal aligns with MASC’s resolution “Poverty and Children” which called for, in part, support for pre-k programs for all children.
Thank you for your consideration and for all that you do in support of public education in Massachusetts.
Sincerely,