As Senate considers charter school expansion, MMA calls for full funding of reimbursement program

Dear Senator,

On behalf of the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association is writing to offer our strong support for Section 55 of S. 2262, An Act Relative to Bridging Gaps in Education. The Senate Committee on Ways and Means has done an excellent job offering a meaningful and effective bill that strikes an important balance by promoting the responsible expansion of commonwealth charter schools, while protecting fiscal stability and resources for the vast majority of schoolchildren who remain in traditional public schools.

The laws, regulations and practices that govern charter school finances are critically important to cities and towns, in great part because the assessments that communities pay to charter schools have a major impact on local budgets and the quality of local education programs. In particular, cities and towns are directly impacted by two factors: 1) the rules that govern assessments on municipalities and regional school districts to pay tuition to charter schools; and 2) the amount the state appropriates to temporarily reimburse a portion of the Chapter 70 aid that is redirected from the community to charter schools. For fiscal 2015, assessments deducted from local Chapter 70 aid are estimated to reach $429 million statewide, an 11 percent increase ($44 million) over the fiscal 2014 amount.

Cities and towns deeply appreciate the Legislature’s $27.6 million appropriation in Chapter 119 of the Acts of 2014 (signed by the Governor on May 29) to fully fund charter school reimbursements to municipalities and school districts in fiscal 2014. Local officials are deeply concerned, however, that the statutory reimbursement remains only partially funded in the fiscal 2015 general appropriations act signed by the Governor last week. The shortfall is estimated at $33 million.

Please Preserve Section 55 of S. 2262 and OPPOSE Amendment #28

In Section 55 of S. 2262, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means has incorporated language to connect any increase in the cap on municipal and school district payments to charter schools with full funding of reimbursements due under the law.

We strongly support this “trigger” provision, because it would ensure that all parties (commonwealth charter schools and traditional public schools) would benefit from full funding of the reimbursement formula, and all parties would share in the financial challenges if a shortfall exists. The provision would limit a school district’s total charter school tuition payments to a commonwealth charter school to the previous year’s percentage of net school spending if the charter school reimbursement program is not fully funded. Charter schools would still share in any overall increase in net school spending levels, but only at the same percentage rate of the previous year. Municipalities and school districts would retain more of their Chapter 70 funds to offset a portion of the revenues lost due to the underfunding of the statutory charter school reimbursement program.

This trigger concept addresses a major problem with the current system – of the 20 cities and towns with the largest shortfalls, 14 of them have been deemed by the state to have underperforming schools, including some the state’s poorest and most financially distressed cities and towns. Thus, the underfunding of the charter school reimbursement formula is harming the most vulnerable and challenged school districts and communities.

This reasonable trigger framework would establish a more even-handed and fully integrated approach to funding municipal and charter schools, which is why we ask you to please OPPOSE Amendment #28, which would strike this language from Section 55.

Please Support Municipal Participation in the Charter School Funding Study and SUPPORT Amendment #29

In addition, we also ask you to support Amendment #29 that would include municipal representation on the commission to review and report on the efficacy of charter school funding in the Commonwealth, an important study proposed in Section 56. As you know, municipal budgets and local taxpayers finance nearly two-thirds of K-12 public education in Massachusetts, and the charter school funding system has a dramatic impact on both municipal and school budgets. The commission as proposed includes no municipal representation on the panel. Amendment #29 offered by Sen. Humason would add two municipal representatives, including a representative recommended by the MMA and a representative from a city or town whose school district is most impacted by the charter school legislation.

As you know, the issues involved in S. 2262 are very important to cities, towns and school districts across Massachusetts, and we greatly appreciate your consideration and deliberation on this matter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to have your staff contact me or MMA Legislative Director John Robertson at 617-426-7272 x122 or jrobertson@mma.org at any time.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey C. Beckwith
Executive Director, MMA