By John Robertson

After two full days of debate, the Senate on May 24 approved a $24 billion state spending plan for next year that largely adopted the main local aid numbers approved by the House but also added a $55 million reserve to cover hoped-for changes to the school funding law.

In both the House and Senate budget bills, Lottery distributions would total $761 million next year, an increase of $100 million not including the one-time municipal aid distributed last September.

Chapter 70 school aid payments would total $3.3 billion in the budget bills of both branches, including the $78 million increase needed to ensure that all municipal and regional school districts can reach the “foundation” level of spending and the $28 million increase sponsored by the MMA to ensure that all districts receive an increase of at least $50 per student.

After the final vote on the Senate spending plan, Senate President Robert Travaglini said, “This budget recognizes that the state is finally rounding the corner in rebuilding its economic footing” and that the Senate “is making prudent investments” in “traditional proprieties like education and community services so our cities and towns can begin easing the hardships they’ve had to struggle with – growing classroom sizes, municipal service layoffs and property tax increases.”

A six-member House-Senate budget conference committee has been convened to reach an agreement in time for a final fiscal 2006 budget bill to be signed by Gov. Mitt Romney before July 1. Last year the governor signed the budget on June 25.

The school funding reserve will be a key difference for conference committee members to resolve. The $55 million account was included in the Senate budget committee recommendation drafted by committee chair Therese Murray of Plymouth. The Senate did not propose to change school finance law or make any allocation to individual municipalities and school districts in order to avoid making major education policy decisions in the budget bill.

During Senate debate, Robert Antonioni of Leominster, Senate chair of the Legislature’s education committee, said there is no consensus yet on changes to school finance law, but he expected that legislation would be proposed later in the spring.

The Senate’s reserve-account language does include general direction on how the new funds could be used that is consistent with the school finance legislation approved by the Senate last July. The budget language calls for improvements to the fairness of school aid distributions and local contribution requirements, including funds for cities, towns and school districts that receive less school aid compared to municipalities and districts with similar wealth and income or have comparatively higher local contribution requirements. The language also proposes the use of new funds to enhance educational quality and accountability efforts.

The education committee was scheduled to hold a public hearing on Chapter 70 school finance bills on June 2.

In one of the few spending additions made to the Senate budget committee’s original recommendation, the Senate added $2.5 million to the student transportation reimbursement account for regional school districts, approving an amendment offered by Sen. Stephen Brewer of Barre that brings the Senate total to $45 million. The House approved $42.5 million.

The Senate also included $16.1 million for the Cherry Sheet payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) program and a full funding schedule proposed by Sen. Susan Fargo of Lincoln. The House appropriated $15.1 million or this account.

The Senate budget included several important non-spending sections, including a supplemental school aid proposal that would begin in fiscal 2007 for cities and towns that adopt a “smart growth zoning district” under Chapter 40R and face district-related education expenses that outpace the locally generated revenues available for schools.

At the urging of the MMA, the Senate also included changes to the new process for disposing of surplus state property with improvements to the local right-to-purchase option, a right cities and towns do not enjoy under a system due to expire on June 30.