Archived Information

School Finance: Chapter 70 Program

FY00 Chapter 70 Aid and Spending Requirements

I am pleased to provide you with final Chapter 70 school aid and spending requirements for FY00, in conformance with the FY00 state budget finalized on November 17^th. The fact that the budget is later than usual does not detract from the fact that the Legislature and Administration have again shown a tremendous commitment to public education. This is the seventh consecutive year of full funding of the Chapter 70 formula. The total amount of aid increases by $237.2 million (9.2 percent) to a total of $2.803 billion.

We should all be proud of what has been accomplished in seven years. In FY93, three out of every five pupils were enrolled in under-funded school districts. In FY2000, every single pupil will be attending a district that has reached or exceeded its foundation budget.

Because we are already well into the 1999-2000 school year, it is very important that you review the enclosed materials closely. All districts receive more aid than was proposed in the preliminary mailing this past February; some districts receive substantially more. Spending requirements have risen correspondingly, and may necessitate supplemental appropriations to FY2000 school budgets. Soon after this mailing is received, you should receive a "Net School Spending Compliance" report from our Office of School Finance. That report will show where your district's FY2000 budget stands relative to the its school spending requirement, based upon information you've provided to the Department on Schedule 19 of the FY99 End-of-Year Pupil and Financial Report.

This package contains the following materials:

White pages -- the detailed calculations of the foundation budget, local contribution, state aid, and net school spending requirements for your municipality or district. A "Chapter 70 Trends" report shows your district's trends in enrollment, aid and spending for each year since FY93. Also included is a chart summarizing these components and showing the $125 per pupil professional development requirement for all districts in the state.

Blue pages -- an explanation of the components which make up the foundation budget, including the dollar amount assigned to each component for FY00.

Green pages -- describe the assumptions used to calculate this year's Chapter 70.

Yellow pages -- An explanation of the calculations and formulas used to determine school aid, minimum local contributions, and total net school spending requirements.

While FY00 marks the end of guaranteed funding for Chapter 70 aid, it remains in statute as the Commonwealth's education aid formula unless it is either amended or replaced. I would like to thank the many officials, researchers and taxpayers who have offered suggestions for how the formula might be changed in the future. At this point it is too early to speculate on what changes will be implemented or when they will occur. However, I assure you that the formula continues to be a priority for education policymakers and that proposals will be carefully considered and publicly shared.

All of the data you have received in this mailing, as well as a number of other analyses and policy papers relative to Chapter 70, are available on the Department's school finance web site http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/).

If you have any questions concerning your FY00 Chapter 70 calculations, please contact either Roger Hatch at (781) 338-6527 (rhatch@doe.mass.edu)or Phyllis Rogers at (781) 338-6534 ( progers@doe.mass.edu) in the School Finance office.

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