(Gary's note: While human service advocates are hoping for a positive outcome regarding human service funding, many are bracing for potential budget reductions in the face of a potential $1.5 billion budget shortfall as earlier cited by the Governor's staff)
BAKER PLANS $105 MILLION INCREASE IN SCHOOL AID
By Michael Norton
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MARCH 3, 2015....
State aid for public schools would rise by 2.4 percent next fiscal year and unrestricted local aid would increase by 3.6 percent in Gov. Charlie Baker's budget proposal, which is set to be fully released on Wednesday.
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said the increases fulfill the governor's pledge during the campaign to boost state aid in concert with rising state revenues - state tax collections are due to rise 4.8 percent in the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1.
The Chapter 70 school aid account in Baker's budget will feature a $105 million increase, which means a minimum increase of $20 per student, Polito told the News Service during an interview Tuesday prior to a meeting with mayors and other municipal officials.
Unrestricted local aid, which is predominantly generated by Lottery profits, would increase to $980 million in Baker's budget plan, which will undergo review and redrafting in the Legislature in the coming months.
A Baker budget aide said the governor's spending plan would include "a lot of level funding." The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation has estimated a $1.5 billion gap between expected revenues and expenses next year.
Baker is tackling that budget gap without recommending any tax hikes and does not plan to draw money from the state's stabilization fund, which lawmakers have regularly used to support spending plans.
The governor's budget bill, which will be the subject of hearings starting next week, also won't include any "one-time gimmicks," Polito said. "It's a straight-forward budget that reflects the priorities that we have, which are helping our cities and towns succeed," she said.
END
03/03/2015
