Municipal Groups Concerned About State Aid Cuts

Note: The following is a press release from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center:

When Fiscal Year 2012 begins, Massachusetts will enter the fourth budget year shaped by the worst national recession since the Great Depression. In Fiscal Year 2012, unrestricted local aid to cities and towns is projected to decrease by 37.6 percent when compared to FY 2009 inflation-adjusted funding levels.

A series of across-the-board cuts and other modifications to the funding formula have had the effect of reducing Chapter 70 education aid for K-12 schools. 

"Over the past three years, while education aid has decreased, the percentage of low-income students and the percentage of students with limited English proficiency have increased," said Dorothy Presser of the Lynnfield School Committee and president of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.

"These are among the students most in need of small class sizes, robust intervention programs and strong support services to help them achieve.  Yet, their districts are laying off teachers, increasing class sizes and curtailing programs critical to their success in order to meet budget numbers.

"Cities and towns around the state are cutting back on important services or deferring investment in schools and libraries, public safety, public works, public health and infrastructure," said Joshua Ostroff, president of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

"Along with diligence in cutting waste, reforming pensions and benefits and increasing productivity in every corner of government, we need fairly applied and predictable revenues to support the services and programs that people expect.  So we need state leaders to have a serious conversation about how we pay for government in a way that is transparent and sustainable, and does not burden people least able to pay."

The Governor's FY 2012 budget proposal represents an 11.5 percent cut to adult basic education when compared to FY 2009 inflation-adjusted funding levels.

The Governor's proposal for higher education funding in FY 2012 represents a 15.9 percent reduction from FY 2009, adjusted for inflation.

A new report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center examines state budget cuts already enacted over the last three fiscal years and those proposed in the Governor's FY 2012 budget.

FISCAL FALLOUT: The Great Recession, Policy Choices, & State Budget Cuts - An Update for Fiscal Year 2012, details by budget category where the new cuts are proposed, and identifies some of the programs that have seen the most significant cuts in recent years. It is available at www.massbudget.org.