Foundation Budget Review Commission resource page

The Foundation Budget Review Commission was created by the Legislature to examine the Chapter 70 school finance law, with a focus on the how the “foundation” spending standard is calculated. The commission is to issue a report with recommendations to update and improve the law.


• Download Foundation Budget Review Commission’s Preliminary Report, issued June 30, 2015 (806K PDF)


Attleboro Mayor Kevin Dumas is the MMA representative on the 21-member commission, which is co-chaired by Rep. Alice Peisch and Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, the chairs of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education. Review of the Chapter 70 foundation budget and the local contribution and school calculations are a priority for the MMA Board of Directors and staff working with the MMA’s Fiscal Policy Committee.

City and town officials were invited to testify at any of the six planned public hearings across the state, and Mayor Dumas and the MMA Board asked local officials to provide comment to the MMA.

The commission held its first meeting on Oct. 9, 2014.

The MMA posts information on this page about commission meetings and hearings, as well as links to reports and data shared with commission members. MMA Legislative Director John Robertson will be point person on the staff for this project.

The commission has scheduled six regional public hearings as follows:
Monday, Nov. 17, at 4:30 p.m. – Holten Richmond Middle School, Danvers
Monday, Dec. 15, at 4:30 p.m. – Somerset Berkley Regional High School
Saturday, Jan. 10, at 11 a.m. – Northampton High School Auditorium
Saturday, Feb. 7, at 11 a.m. – Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, South Yarmouth
Saturday, Feb. 28, at 11 a.m.  – Florence Sawyer School, Bolton
Monday, March 9, at 4:30 p.m. – Lee Elementary School, Dorchester/Boston

Testimony
• Written testimony presented to Foundation Budget Review Commission at Danvers Public Hearing Nov. 17 (1.6M PDF)
• Written testimony presented to Foundation Budget Review Commission at Somerset Public Hearing Dec. 15 (2.6M PDF)
• Written testimony presented to Foundation Budget Review Commission at Bolton Public Hearing Feb. 28 (4.4M PDF)
• Written testimony presented to Foundation Budget Review Commission at Boston Public Hearing March 9 (4.3M PDF)
• Presentation to FBRC by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on special education and health insurance, March 10 (676K PDF)

Hearing notices
• Foundation Budget Review Commission Public Hearing Notice, March 9 in Boston (79K PDF)
• Foundation Budget Review Commission Public Hearing Notice, Feb. 7 in Yarmouth (86K PDF)
• Foundation Budget Review Commission Public Hearing Notice, Jan. 10 in Northampton (41K Word)
• Foundation Budget Review Commission Public Hearing Notice, Dec. 15 in Somerset (87K PDF)
• Foundation Budget Review Commission Public Hearing Notice, Nov. 17 in Danvers (87K PDF)

Background
• Foundation Budget Review Commission Charge (90K PDF)
• Foundation Budget Review Commission Members (81K PDF)
• DESE Report on the Status of the Public Education Financing System in Massachusetts, July 2013 (664K PDF)