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Along with several of his colleagues on the School Committee, Jeff Thielman has lobbied for additional state aid for the Arlington Public Schools.
Jeff is a member of the Advocacy Committee of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), has spoken to the Local Government Advisory Council chaired by the Lieutenant Governor about Arlington’s needs, and has lobbied state legislators to support legislation proposed to increase Chapter 70 funding (state aid to cities and towns for education).
Despite the efforts of Jeff and hundreds of other School Committee members across the state, Massachusetts schools are under-resourced, and parents and students are forced to pay higher and higher fees to keep critical programs in place.
The challenge in Arlington and in other cities and towns is that the costs of local government are rising at a rate faster than the revenues available. Arlington passed a Proposition 2 ½ override in 2005 as part of a five-year fiscal stability plan that limited operating budget growth to 4% per year and health insurance increases to 7% per year over the next five years. The plan assumed an $800,000 increase per year over four years in state aid. In addition, the town anticipated some growth in revenue from the Symmes development project, an increase in local receipts, and a 4% increase in the Town’s share of Minuteman tuition expenses and enrollment.
Arlington’s Chapter 70 funds are less than what we received in 2002-03. Here’s the recent history of state aid for education to the Town of Arlington:
2002-03
$6,003,47
2003-04 $4,802,777
2004-05 $4,802,777
2005-06 $5,019,277
2006-07 $5,592,670
2007-08 $5,814,120
The need for additional state aid is obvious. The state’s $26.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2008 includes approximately $7 billion for education, three-fourths of which is distributed to cities and towns by formula. Several commentators have spoken about the need to reconfigure the Chapter 70 formula, the method by which state funds are distributed to cities and towns. Arlington suffers under the current formula because is it has a tiny industrial tax base. The reality, however, is that elected officials at the state and local level have to have an honest conversation about increasing revenue in order to have sufficient funds for our schools.
Please contribute to Jeff's Campaign!
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