Thread by @TracyNovick

OKAY, #MAEdu, we've got the House FY22 Ways and Means budget coming out tomorrow, so it is a time for a thread (with some help from the Muppets):

AS ALWAYS, the first order of business here is to look at Chapter 70 funding:

We should OF COURSE first recall that we are a year into implementation of the first year of the Student Opportunity Act...except we aren't:

Now, based on the local aid agreement of last week, it *does* appear that the House and Senate intend to implement ONE-SIXTH of the Student Opportunity Act in FY22.

Reminder, though, that one-sixth =/= two-sevenths, so while we will get there in the same period of time, we will not, this coming year, be where we were going to be if things went as planned.

It's another $20M in a $5.5 BILLION account...this makes good press, but if you think we're talking big money here...

which brings us to the change we're still seeking...

The Ways and Means agreement puts in a $40M "enrollment reserve" account for districts that had enrollment drops this past year.
Smooth sailing, right?

Nope.
This literally puts every district that depends on Ch. 70 aid and had a big drop in the Pre-K/K accounts here:

Two reasons:

1. It just plain isn't enough money. Per @massupt (Roger Hatch did the math here) 1/6th enrollment + hold harmless enrollment is $152M.
They're doing let's call it $22M + $40M = $62M.

We're short $90M. So that's not working.

2. (and this one I seem to have real trouble getting across to legislators, for some reason)

WE ARE DOING OUR BUDGETS NOW.

Districts need to know NOW how much money they can plan on spending next year, so they can hire teachers NOW (or ASAP), so they can bid out space NOW, so they can arrange for curriculum NOW.

THESE THINGS TAKE TIME.

Insufficient pothole accounts that don't get to districts until late summer? next fall? leave us here:

So do NOT come out with messaging about how you've provided for our enrollment issues for next fall if what you're offering is something outside of Ch. 70

NOTE: Supplemental budgets do the SAME THING.

While I'm sure we've all appreciated the irony of the decades fight over reforming the education funding system to get done just in time for it not to be funded, for that to be followed by it being funding but with an undercount of pupils takes this a bit far, let's say.

And can I just say:

If there were ever a year to ensure that we as a state are doing all that we can--in and OUT of school--for kids, wouldn't this be the year?

Shouldn't we be flooding summer programs and out of school programs as well as district programs with resources this year?

And so, looking for sufficient funding for school budgets....
#MAEdu