Mayor, School Superintendent to Fight for School Funding

Medford, Other Communities Take Issue with Funding Formula

– Allison Goldsberry

A drop in state aid and a sinking economy have caused Medford to cut $1.4 million from this year’s budget alone and will likely cause a much larger budget gap for next year, yet Medford will not see one penny from a $168 million recovery package proposed by Governor Deval Patrick.

The reason, according to city officials, is a complicated state education funding formula that considers property values and personal income to determine how much aid a community should receive.  According to Mayor Michael McGlynn and School Superintendent Roy Belson, the formula, which was put into place four years ago, has caused Medford to lose about $40 million in aid from the state.  As a result, Medford receives less money now in state aid than it did in 2002.

“Economically ‘poorer’ communities like Malden, Everett, Lawrence, Chelsea need the funds to meet the projected increase in required ‘net school spending.’ ‘Poorer’ in this instance generally refers to the combined aggregate value of their taxable real estate and their residential income. Medford has the 12th highest property values in the state(EQV). We also have very strong personal income in the community. The thinking behind the income is that…the higher the income the greater the ability of the residents to pay. While there is some logic to this it falls short in my opinion because income tax collections go directly to the state and not to the locality,” wrote School Superintendent Belson in an email.

During last year’s budget process, the city scambled to close a $3.4 million gap, $1.2 million of which was in the school budget.   This year is expected to be even worse.

Mayor McGlynn said he was “stunned” Medford, along with many other communities in the state, won’t receive any of the $168 million in federal aid the governor is distributing to 166 districts.

“What Congress said is, let’s take this money and spread it through every city and town in the country and reboot the economy. Cities and towns are the economic engine that drive this country. But half of us, more than half of us, are not even allowed to start the car,” said Mayor McGlynn.

According to Superintendent Belson and State Representative Carl Sciortino (D-Medford), Medford is not getting any of the cash because it has satisfied its legally required “foundation” budget level. The $168 million is intended to help communities that are below the foundation level, according to the governor.

The governor defends his plan, saying the money “evens out,” as communities such as Medford that have been left out of the $168 million will receive special education funding and Title 1 money.  Education Secretary Paul Reville also defended the state funding formula, telling an NECN reporter that North Adams receives nearly four times as much aid per student as does Wellesley.

According to Superintendent Belson, Medford does stand to receive approximately $2.4 to 2.5 million in direct education aid in federal stimulus money through the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and Title One of NCLB (No Child Left Behind). However, he still takes issue with a formula that apparently is squeezing certain middle class communities such as Medford, Somerville, Beverly, Falmouth, Gloucester, Newburyport, Saugus, and Wakefield. Under the formula, the state is scaling back its share of the school budget from 37.5% to 17.5%, while wealthier communities that were below the 17.5% level are being brought up to it with additional funding.

“As I said many times, Medford is a ‘Tweener Community.’  We have urban needs but do not qualify for the same funding as the other urban centers.  Our demographics are a strong mix between urban and suburban but our funding is caught between these two realities. Medford has legitimate financial aid needs and this formula as well as the reduction in other local aid hurts a lot,” said Superintendent Belson.

Belson said he will be lobbying Beacon Hill for help and hopes the legislature will consider passing the Municipal Partnership Act, a plan proposed by the governor that allows communities to raise money through hotel and meals taxes.

“Overall, despite recent financial retrains, Medford has been very resourceful funding our schools. We will continue to work hard to preserve and further develop our school system despite the financial challenges. We will need the understanding and help of many to make this possible next year,” said Superintendent Belson.