Senate FY24 Ways and Means budget

 The Senate FY 24 Ways and Means budget was submitted this afternoon. 

It can all be found here. I have been tracking the K-12 education accounts here. I tweeted a thread out on this yesterday. 

The Senate budget does NOT include universal provision of school lunch. Expect that to go to conference committee. 

Remember that House MSBA cap lift to $1.1B? The Senate Ways and Means Committee is proposing a lift to the cap to $1.2B, and making it retroactive to the beginning of the current fiscal year. The budget also creates a commission to look at the MSBA funding ('though the charge of that Commission doesn't look at the proportional backlog at districts that have been underfunded). And it also includes $100M for increased costs of already ongoing building projects; that's the recognition of pandemic-related inflation. I had heard that the statewide need was for $300M, but this is certainly a step in the right direction.

The Senate funds Chapter 70 the same way as the House; it just includes the additional $30/pupil minimum (making for $60/pupil) within the Chapter 70 account. That means the $60/pupil minimum increase will go forward. I'll see if I can get some time to take a look at how many districts that will pull back under hold harmless next year; I won't have exact numbers, but maybe I can get us some idea of the hole we're re-digging.

The circuit breaker is here at $503M, which is $3M less than the House passed; I suspect this might be hedging on costs being covered.

The charter mitigation account is here at $230M, which is is $13M less than the House passed, BUT the Senate W&M budget also includes language carrying forward $10M unexpended from FY23, which would seem to then fund this at $240M.

Regional transportation here is back at $97.7M; the House had amended their identical W&M number to $107M (estimated to be 100% of reimbursement). There is no municipal reimbursement. There is, however, $28.6M for homeless transportation (as does the House). 

There is the same $32M for MCAS.

METCO is down a bit here to $28.9M (the House passed it at $31M).

On early college, the Senate W&M budget keeps about the same the line at $15M (the House had an additional $150K), as well as funding a $10M expansion grant.

Rural school aid here is up another $5M to $15M. 

After & out of school grants is here at $10.5M which is below even FY23.

MCIEA is back in (the Governor's budget had it; it was out in House) at $550K.

On the trust funds:

• Hate crime/bias prevention $400K (same)
• 21st c. trust fund $5M (same)
• civics project trust fund $1.5M (same)
• genocide education trust fund $2M (up from House $500K)
• STEM trust fund $1.5M (back in from being out)