The Haves & Have Nots

In Massachusetts, some school districts are able to spend more than double what their neighbors do on K-12 education. The state government should try to provide funding to make up the gap between what municipal governments can provide for schooling and the cost of the a quality education with Chapter 70 funds. Look at the map below to see a list of the “Haves and Have-Nots”, which include examples of schools who are spending the most and least in local funds on their students. The state provides aid to supplement this local funding, but it doesn’t make up the gap between the haves and have-nots.

The darker the red, the less local governments contribute towards students. The bigger the bubble, the more is spent total per student in their district. Does it seem like Chapter 70 is effective?

Unfunded Pension Liabilities

Every three years the Secretary of Administration and Finance is responsible for establishing a funding schedule. As Pioneer Institute has pointed out previously, the Commonwealth has been deferring responsibility when it comes to paying down its $41.26 billion unfunded pension liability, which includes state employees in the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System (MTRS) and the Boston Teachers Retirement System (BTRS). MTRS and BTRS represent 65.6% of the total unfunded liabilities in the state. Every three years, the new schedule has been more heavily back-loaded, easing the rate of increase over the short term and further increasing payments in out years. In layman terms, this is like a teen spending too much on their first credit card, and their parents in turn barely make big enough payments to work down the balance. Does this seem like smart fiscal policy to you?

See pension liability by locality:

Data Tables

Net Education Spending by Locality

Sources:

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (n.d.). FY18 Chapter 70 District Summary. Retrieved June 26, 2019, from http://www.doe.mass.edu/finance/chapter70/fy2018/chapter-18-local.xlsx.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (n.d.). FY19 Foundation Budget Per Pupil: Key Factors in the Calculation. Retrieved June 26, 2019, from http://www.doe.mass.edu/finance/chapter70/keyfactors.xlsx

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (n.d.). FY14-FY18 Per-Pupil Expenditures, All Funds – Statistical Comparisons – School Finance. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Retrieved June 26, 2019, from http://www.doe.mass.edu/finance/statistics/ppx14-18.html

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2019, January 1). Chapter 70 Program – School Finance. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Retrieved June 26, 2019, from http://www.doe.mass.edu/finance/chapter70/

Unfunded Pension Liability by District