Local Hearing on State Funding of Public Education

The Foundation Budget Review Commission will hold a public hearing on Monday, November 17th from 4:30-6:30 in the multi-purpose room at the Holten Richmond Middle School at 55 Conant Street in Danvers.

The formula for Chapter 70 state aid to school districts is little changed since the Massachusetts Ed Reform Act of 1993. The Act defined a foundation budget for each school district, representing the amount of money deemed necessary to provide an adequate education to all students in that district. Among other important provisions, the Chapter 70 formula determines how much of each district’s Foundation Budget will be paid with state aid and how much will be paid by local taxpayers.

The commission has scheduled this public hearing for the purpose of soliciting testimony from members of the public on the following specific areas that the commission is charged with reviewing:

• The educational programs and services necessary to achieve the commonwealth’s educational goals and to prepare students to achieve passing scores on the state assessment system;
• The components and assumptions used in the calculation of foundation budgets;
• Measures to ensure that resources are effectively utilized; and
• Models of efficient and effective resource allocation.

Due to the limited time frame of the hearing, the number of persons providing oral testimony and the length of such testimony will be limited to 3 minutes per person. If you require special accommodations or have any questions regarding the hearing, please contact Jennie Williamson, Research Director of the Education Committee, at 617-722-2070.

Written comments and testimony will be also accepted after the hearing, and may be submitted to Jennie Williamson by e-mail at Jennie.Williamson@mahouse.gov.

For further information, contact Stacey Metternick at s.metternick@hwschools.net. Interested residents may also wish to join also a Facebook page called Coalition for Chapter 70 Reform. It is a North Shore-led effort to support the work of the Commission with the assistance of our elected representatives on Beacon Hill.

For more information visit http://www.mma.org/images/stories/Advocacy/public_hearing_notice_nov17.pdf.