On June 18, 1993 the Massachusetts Education Reform Act Called for Changes to the Current
Jennifer L. Marks/Carol McMillan
Financing Education
Prof. Dr. Stephen Furtado
Analysis of Budget Trends brought about by Reform Act FY93
As we reflect back to 1993 we were aware of changes and new mandates happening to the district, but at the time we did not completely understand all of the ramifications the reform act had on the budget.
On June 18, 1993 the Massachusetts Education Reform Act called for changes to the current public education system over a time period of 7 years. The major improvements was suppose to be greater and more equitable funding to schools, accountability for student learning, here we have the creation of MCAS, statewide standards for students, educators, schools and districts. The implementation of major improvements of course must come with a high price. The Commonwealth pledged to support school improvements in education by providing $1 billion in state aide and the vision was that by the end of a decade more than $2 billion in new state aide dollars would be provided to Massachusetts public schools. One of the goals was to have the state and local shares almost equal statewide.
The Reform Act brought about major changes in accountability and called for certain requirements for public schools to adhere to: Teacher rectification making sure educators continue to develop their craft, a school site council in every school, defined roles for school committees, granting more authority to principals, and measurable statewide standards for students and schools.
The Reform Act established a "foundation budget" to bring all schools to a foundation level of spending. Local demographic and economic factors are considered so the level differs in each community, but statewide the average foundation budget in1993 was $5500. For five consecutive years the governor and state legislature have fully funded the law and the goal was that in year 2000, all districts are at their foundation level.
The Boston Public Schools budget is comprised of three funds that appear on the City of Boston's ledger. The first is the General School Purposes (GPS) fund. The second is the Alterations and Repairs (A&R) fund. The first and the second fund make up the "general fund" budget. The third is the Special Revenue fund, this fund tracks monies that come from external sources directly to Boston Public Schools.
In FY96 to FY99, the foundation enrollment increased about 6,500 students and from FY99 to FY04 the foundation enrollment shows a marginal increase to about a 1,000 students. This decrease in student enrollment may be a direct correlation to the Reform Act and the opening of charter schools. The per pupil budget in FY96 to FY99 increased about $650 and from FY99 to FY04 it increased about $1,000. The foundation budget in FY96 to FY99 increased about $89,000,000 and from FY99 to FY04, the foundation budget shows a marginal increase of about $74,500,000. The required local contribution in FY96 to FY99 increased about $7,000,000 and from FY 99 to FY 04 the required local contribution increased to about $58,000,000. The chapter 70 aid in FY96 to FY99 increased $ 86,000,000 and from FY99 to FY04 the chapter 70 aid showed a slight increase of $22,000,000. In the early years of the Reform Act, you can clearly see the states contribution to the districts budget as we get closer to the goal of the Reform Act the chapter 70 aid begins to level off. As a matter of fact in FY03 to FY04 there is a decrease of $ 5,000,000 in chapter 70 aid to the district. In FY04 and FY05 the chapter 70 aid levels off for the district.
The required net spending in FY96 and FY99 compared to what was actually spent was over each year by about $45 million. In FY04 the required net spending compared to what was actually spent was over by about $65 million.