when assistance is commentary

 I and others shared the following from the supplemental budget passed by the House earlier this week: 

House Democrats on Wednesday began moving a $693 million spending bill that includes a $75 million reserve account districts could tap to manage the increase in special education tuition costs after pandemic-era federal grants expired.

That's from the State House News report on the supplemental budget here.

Because this bill (it's H 3982) moved as quickly as it did (irony, as the FY24 budget is still outstanding), what wasn't clear even to those of us who pay attention to such things was the conditions under which that funding can be tapped: 

...no funds from this item shall be distributed to any school district that has unobligated Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds pursuant to: (i) section 18003(b) of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Public Law 116-136; (ii) 5 of 14 section 313 of the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, Division M of Public Law 116-260; (iii) section 2001 of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2001, Public Law 117-2; or (iv) any other federal act providing for COVID-19 response funds

aka: have unobligated ESSER funds? You can't have this help.

Now Andrew O'Leary correctly notes that this depends on what one takes "unobligated" to mean, as every district in the Commonwealth has long since reported to the state what their intentions are for all of their ESSER funds, so one would think this would mean we're all okay.
Unfortunately, this seems to have once again involved the ongoing "sitting on money" perception that has been--let's be clear here--the fiction that has been bandied about since day one by those who aren't actually listening to districts. 

Exactly how many months is DESE CFO Bill Bell going to need to report again to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education that districts are on track to spend all funds on plans they submitted years ago before it permeates the hearing of those who are making these claims in Massachusetts? 

As for Worcester? While this isn't assistance we'd be eligible for, in any case, we have HVAC plans that are through engineering and the supply chain that are now being done. We have six million dollars in literacy curriculum. We have 65 buses still coming. 
In Massachusetts, it is illegal for a school district to pay a bill until they've received the good or service. Once those things come, Worcester will have a bill to pay. Until then, those dollars are going to appear "unspent" to the facile reviewer. 

Speaking, as always, for myself: this is insulting the thoughtful multi-year planning for one time funds (special education tuition, of course, is not) that districts have done.
We at the local level deserve better than this. 

While it is possible that this is a "pre-conference" bill (the leadership of both chambers agreed to it ahead of time, so there won't be changes in the Senate, and thus no conference committee), it's still worth contacting your Senator(s). I have.