a few quick thoughts on the Governor's budget

 ...which is here, with the education section here, and my "adding as we go" spreadsheet here, though this doesn't include whatever it is that the Globe is talking about here (I imagine that is also buried in those grant lines...I will update when I find them). 

DESE has the FY26 numbers up though the cherry sheets (as of quarter of four on Wednesday) are not yet. 

First, this budget is using Fair Share funding to partly fund ($225M) state chapter 70 aid; it's being called "Student Opportunity Act Expansion" funding, which on the one hand is funding (part of) the fifth year of implementation, which is better than not, but on the other hand is, alongside using Fair Share for free lunch reimbursement, using that "let's think big!' money for some basic commitments that the state has made.
So, meh.

On the foundation budget, we do have a 1.93% inflation rate, which is BAD (if expected). I am willing to bet that school districts are not seeing that rate of increase in many if any of their cost centers, and so how that shakes out is...as you'd expect.

The exception is the health insurance rate--under SOA, that's separate, remember--which is 6.13%, which is closer to what districts may actually being seeing ('though I have seen some double digit ones coming in).

I assume because of the above and because districts have been unhappy about being in hold harmless funding, the Governor's budget is putting minimum per pupil funding at $75/pupil. THIS IS ALSO NOT GOOD. As I noted in my new year post, this is driving us further and further into a funding system in which there is NO relationship between how much state funding a district gets, and the actual needs of either the students or the community. That's not what our constitutional commitment is. 
And you know we're going to hear that there's no money for a more realistic inflation rate, while somehow there's millions (and millions) for "everyone gets more money regardless of need." 
(PS: stop citing the number of districts that are in hold harmless; it isn't making the point you think it is.)

And if you ever hear that SOA isn't working, here's what it is doing (along with much else):

And if that didn't matter to you: your local community was, I'll bet, already funding well over that. Lucky you, but many places couldn't afford it without state aid. 

More as I have time! And send questions if you have them! 

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PS: quick note on Worcester: the city's showing a healthy 5.26% Municipal Revenue Growth Factor (yes, that's how much municipal revenue is growing!), and so we have no reason to hear any concerns raised about the city being required to pick up something like 20% of the required MINIMUM increase in funding.