Governor Baker* proposes his FY23 budget to the House on Wednesday!
*for the last time
So, what does this mean for education?
We should see year two of six of the phase in of the Student Opportunity Act.
(Unless for some reason the Governor decides this is still supposed to be a seven year process…we’re going to call that a long shot)
This is, of course, a good thing!
Do, however, keep in mind that state aid is based on the foundation budget which is based on enrollment which may not be growing for your district.
There is one open question on the implementation this year (though I bet I know which way the Governor will go):
Inflation: SOA caps the inflation rate at 4.5%.
The actual inflation rate is 5.9%.
The actual inflation rate is 5.9%.
I will suggest that is the question for the Legislature…
Even with flat enrollment, year two should see some more districts flip out of hold harmless aid!
This is particularly going to be true for the higher poverty (student body) districts.
Also, this is the first year with the “low income plus” student count (this is already on your district profile page)
Remember, though, that SOA implementation isn’t only about Ch. 70: there’s also the charter reimbursement…
…and the circuit breaker phasing in transportation.
What am I worried about?
I am very, very concerned that ESSER is going to make some leaders think districts are just all set.
ESSER isn’t long-term operational funding.
If you’re unclear on that, you haven’t been listening.
That all starts on Wednesday, and you can check here.
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