Cape & Islands News

Romney makes the richer get richer, and...

By David Kibbe, Ottaway News Service, Nantucket Unquirer & Mirror

Gov. Mitt Romney earlier this week proposed a $25.2 billion state budget for next fiscal year that would overhaul the way the state distributes school aid to cities and towns, and result in an additional 63,762 in education aid to Nantucket.

One Cape Democrat, however, is already calling the overall plan a “disaster.”

Romney said his new aid formula would give more money to growing communities by basing half of the distribution formula on property values and half on income. Cape and Islands communities have long complained that the decade-old formula counts them as wealthy due to high property values, without considering their relatively low median incomes.

So local officials were taken aback when Romney’s new formula actually reduced Chapter 70 funding - the main category of education aid - in a number of Cape towns, even though some will see big net gains in other local aid accounts. Nantucket, however, would see a $63,762 increase in education aid to $898,930 under the Romney plan... Read the rest of this story in the Inquitrer & Mirror here, and comment below.

Mashpee- Governor Proposing $25.2 Billion Budget, Mashpee Shortchanged

By MICHAEL C. BAILEY, Enterprise Newspapers

Education aid would receive a $163 million funding increase under Governor W. Mitt Romney’s spending plan for Fiscal Year 2007.
Mr. Romney released his FY07 budget proposal Wednesday, laying out a $25.2 billion spending plan that he said “reflects a marked improvement in the fiscal health of the Commonwealth, allowing us to share the benefits of the turnaround with our cities and towns.”

The governor’s figure represents a 5.3 percent increase over the FY06 budget.

A point of interest to Cape schools are proposed changes to the Chapter 70 state education aid formula. “My budget increases and more equitably allocates aid to our local school districts” by a total of $163 million, Mr. Romney said. His budget also includes an extensive proposed overhaul of the Chapter 70 formula.

The governor’s budget would allot $3.4 billion to Chapter 70. Under Mr. Romney’s proposal, Bourne would receive $4.6 million in state aid, an increase of approximately $100,000 over last year. Falmouth would also receive an extra $100,000, bringing that town’s FY07 aid to $4.5 million. Sandwich would receive $5.8 million, a $200,000 increase.

Mashpee’s aid would not increase. Its Chapter 70 aid would hold steady at about $4 million...

Read the rest of this Mashpee Enterprise story here, and comment below

D/Y: Sullivan sees no compromise on school funding
By Craig Salters/ csalters@cnc.com / The Register

The towns of Dennis and Yarmouth have three options when it comes to regional school funding: stick with the existing regional agreement, adopt the more recent Chapter 70 formula or come up with a compromise formula ... and quick.

But Tuesday night's meeting of Yarmouth selectmen saw the board's chairman, Jerry Sullivan, express a desire to move away from the existing formula. He also expressed serious doubt that the two sides will be able to reach a compromise agreement.

"My personal view is that there doesn't seem to be support for the regional agreement," said Sullivan after Tuesday night's regular meeting. Sullivan was quick to point out that no formal vote on the matter had been taken; he did, however, discuss his views at the board meeting and encountered no disagreement.

That leaves the controversial Chapter 70 funding formula, which has been estimated to save Yarmouth million but would place that burden on Dennis. Unlike the traditional regional agreement, which funds regional schools on a per-pupil basis, the Chapter 70 formula relies on median income and other factors.

On numerous occasions Dennis officials have stated their desire to continue the existing regional agreement and a strong opposition to switching to the Chapter 70 formula. One case against the switch is that, by leaving the per-pupil formula, Dennis taxpayers would essentially be subsidizing Yarmouth students...

Read the rest of this Register story here, and comment below.

Less isn't ever more

By Adrian Walker, Globe Columnist | January 30, 2006

There are a lot of people who were happy with how they fared when Governor Mitt Romney unveiled his $25.2 billion budget proposal last week. John Drew was not one of them.

The proposed budget includes more money for public health, education, and local aid. But for Drew, the executive vice president of Action for Boston Community Development, the antipoverty agency, it falls well short for one constituency: poor people.

''We're angry," he said yesterday. ''It doesn't take much to understand that jobs for kids for the summer, for the homeless, for counselors working for kids in the city, these things are important."

Though the budget represents an increase of 5.3 percent, there was belt-tightening in some areas, even as Romney renewed his familiar call to cut the income tax rate to 5 percent. Last year, the Legislature approved a supplemental $1.35 million increase in Head Start funding. That increase is nowhere to be found in the latest proposal.

''If we don't get that money, it would mean that hundreds of children could lose their child care services," Drew said. ''That's not a good investment."

Some housing programs and programs for teens also took hits. The Summer Jobs Program, now funded at $4 million, would shrink to $2 million...

Read the rest of this Globe column here, and comment below.