|
Senate, House agree to increase Local Aid by $235 million over last year
April 4, 2007...Today, Senator Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, and his legislative colleagues adopted a local aid plan for Fiscal Year 2008 that increases aid to cities and towns by over $235 million, which represents a $12.9 million increase for communities in the Worcester and Norfolk District.
“My colleagues and I are committed to providing our students with the best possible education, and we have done so by allocating $220 million more than last year’s budget in aid to public schools,” said Moore. “This agreement will bring tangible and meaningful improvements to the quality of education in the Commonwealth.”
The following are highlights of the joint resolution:
- Increases education aid by $220,591,441 over FY 2007 and by $20,000,000 over House 1
|
- Offers a statewide increase of 6.3% increase in education aid over FY 2007. The Worcester and Norfolk District communities will receive a combined increase of 8.42%
|
- Increases the per pupil English Language Learner allocation by $50 and the per pupil Low-Income allocation by $25
|
- Maintains the $50 per pupil minimum increase
|
- Fully funds growth aid, which is given to communities experiencing increases in their foundation budgets due to enrollment increases
|
- Fully funds effort reduction assistance to communities that are paying more than their target share
|
- Distributes 100% of lottery revenues to cities and towns for general government purposes resulting in a $15 million increase statewide over last year. This represents a $429,469 increase for the communities of the Worcester and Norfolk District
|
AID TO SCHOOLS RISES UNDER SENATE-HOUSE PLAN
Listed below are the total amounts of FY 2008 Chapter 70 Education Aid for the communities and regional schools of the Worcester and Norfolk District.
|
Community/District
|
FY
2007
|
FY08
Senate/House
|
FY07vFY08
|
%
change FY07/FY08
|
|
Bellingham
|
$7,877,773
|
$8,236,349
|
$358,576
|
4.55%
|
|
Blackstone
|
$115,035
|
$115,785
|
$750
|
0.07%
|
|
Douglas
|
$6,966,367
|
$7,317,967
|
$351,600
|
5.05%
|
|
Dudley
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Hopedale
|
$5,621,974
|
$5,975,497
|
$353,523
|
6.29%
|
|
Mendon
|
$6,425
|
$13,251
|
$6,826
|
106.24%
|
|
Milford
|
$10,882,700
|
$12,145,146
|
$1,262,446
|
11.60%
|
|
Millville
|
$7,636
|
$16,148
|
$8,512
|
111.47%
|
|
Northbridge
|
$13,322,608
|
$14,114,803
|
$792,195
|
5.95%
|
|
Oxford
|
$8,877,524
|
$9,240,150
|
$362,626
|
4.08%
|
|
Southbridge
|
$14,851,612
|
$15,829,982
|
$978,370
|
6.59%
|
|
Sutton
|
$5,011,361
|
$5,245,542
|
$234,181
|
4.67%
|
|
Uxbridge
|
$9,271,984
|
$9,377,789
|
$105,805
|
1.14%
|
|
Webster
|
$8,162,458
|
$8,973,217
|
$810,759
|
9.93%
|
|
Blackstone-Millville
|
$10,509,983
|
$10,845,267
|
$335,284
|
3.19%
|
|
Blackstone Valley
|
$5,972,403
|
$6,607,116
|
$634,713
|
10.63%
|
|
Dudley-Charlton
|
$22,188,433
|
$23,069,087
|
$880,654
|
3.97%
|
|
Mendon-Upton
|
$10,852,173
|
$11,687,996
|
$835,823
|
7.70%
|
|
Norfolk
County Ag
|
$777,426
|
$911,205
|
$133,779
|
17.21%
|
|
Southern
Worcester
|
$7,282,029
|
$8,337,187
|
$1,055,158
|
17.49%
|
|
District
Total
|
$148,557,904
|
$158,059,484
|
$9,501,580
|
6.40%
|
Sen. Moore also said that when the Senate releases its full budget in May, he is hopeful that it will address additional funding for education including: fully funding regional transportation, restoring the “pothole” program that provides one-time funds to school districts with unanticipated expenses; and increases in funding for the special education circuit breaker.
LOTTERY AID SEES INCREASE AS WELL
In addition to aid for public education, the Senate-House agreement also includes funding for general government expenses at the local level that is derived from Lottery revenues. Below are the total amounts of FY 2008 Lottery aid for the communities of the Worcester and Norfolk District.
|
Town
|
FY
2007
|
FY
2008 Senate/House
|
FY07
v FY08
|
%change
FY07/FY08
|
|
Bellingham
|
$2,084,059
|
$2,111,840
|
$27,781
|
1.33%
|
|
Blackstone
|
$1,467,122
|
$1,489,325
|
$22,203
|
1.51%
|
|
Douglas
|
$891,302
|
$908,255
|
$16,953
|
1.90%
|
|
Dudley
|
$1,888,107
|
$1,921,092
|
$32,985
|
1.75%
|
|
Hopedale
|
$797,688
|
$811,561
|
$13,873
|
1.74%
|
|
Mendon
|
$498,814
|
$508,609
|
$9,795
|
1.96%
|
|
Milford
|
$3,739,705
|
$3,801,454
|
$61,749
|
1.65%
|
|
Millville
|
$436,487
|
$444,249
|
$7,762
|
1.78%
|
|
Northbridge
|
$2,590,732
|
$2,624,068
|
$33,336
|
1.29%
|
|
Oxford
|
$2,520,812
|
$2,559,196
|
$38,384
|
1.52%
|
|
Southbridge
|
$4,305,384
|
$4,378,557
|
$73,173
|
1.70%
|
|
Sutton
|
$954,596
|
$971,553
|
$16,957
|
1.78%
|
|
Uxbridge
|
$1,685,644
|
$1,712,525
|
$26,881
|
1.59%
|
|
Webster
|
$2,971,922
|
$3,019,559
|
$47,637
|
1.60%
|
|
District
Total
|
$26,832,374
|
$27,261,843
|
$429,469
|
1.60%
|
More information on Senator Moore’s work in the Senate, can be obtained by logging onto his web site at
www.senatormoore.com.
|
