Submitted by the Office of Rep. Ken Gordon (D-Bedford)
Representative Ken Gordon (D-Bedford) joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing its budget for the Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) last week. In addition to local aid, the over $41.065 billion spending bill targets areas such as education, health and human services, housing and homelessness, and veteran services.
In addition to funding important programs and services throughout the Commonwealth, the House FY19 budget included important local aid and Chapter 70 Education funding increases for the Twenty-First Middlesex District.
“I am proud of this fiscally responsible budget that ensures our cities and towns have the resources they need to operate at the highest standard. We are once again following through on our promise to protect local aid and assistance to our schools” said Rep. Gordon.
Chapter 70 Education Funding:
- Bedford received $4,832,310, a $207,668 increase over FY18
- Burlington received $6,517,934, a $389,338 increase over FY18
- Shawsheen Valley Technical High School received $6,431,361, a $40,110 increase over FY18
Unrestricted General Government Aid (Local Aid):
- Bedford received $1,186,907, a $40,137 increase over FY18
- Burlington received $2,707,773, a $91,567 increase over FY18
Two important amendments filed by Rep. Gordon were included in the House budget:
- A $15,000 allocation was included to support renovations at Burlington Council on Aging. “I am happy to see that the House budget includes funding for the Burlington Council on Aging so that Burlington can continue to provide improved services for our seniors,” said Rep. Gordon.
- The House appropriated funding pursuant to another Rep. Gordon amendment, which will be used for the education of the children of military families who live on Hansom Air Force Base and attend Bedford Public Schools. Rep. Gordon joined Senator Mike Barrett in the 2015 session to pass a law that requires the Commonwealth to reimburse the town for the education of the military students, but the law is subject to appropriation.
Additionally, the special education circuit breaker, which reimburses local school districts for a portion of their costs for educating severely high-needs special education students, was funded at $300,250,000, a $19,018,819 increase over FY18.
The FY19 budget proposal now goes to the Massachusetts State Senate, where debate begins in May.
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