The Lynn Public School district was in the news
recently as the city continues to deal with a school spending deficit
that has led to the threats of decreases in Chapter 70 state aid. The
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's most
recent report indicates that the $825,689 shortfall mentioned in the
Daily Item article was for fiscal year (FY) 2016 which ended on June 30,
2016. For FY 2017 which ends at the end of June 2017, the DESE is
currently reporting a shortfall of over $3.5 million.
Looking ahead to FY 18, which begins on July 1, 2017, Lynn is expected to allocate just over $200 million on public education based on preliminary DESE reports (excluding any potential carryovers from FY17). This is based on a student population of 16,852 (including students attending charter and out of district schools).
Approximately, three-quarters of that allocation is to come from Chapter 70 state aid, while the other quarter will come from the city. This has been standard practice in Lynn's education spending as the majority of Lynn's required net school spending has come from Chapter 70 state aid. The House Ways and Means budget currently puts Lynn's Chapter 70 funding allocation slightly higher than the initial projection at $153,442,426 (Sections 2 & 3).
Compliance with net school spending totals is continuously in flux as the fiscal year has not ended and review of spending amounts occurs on an ongoing basis. While this is subject to change, Lynn is still facing a considerable under-funding of public education.
You May Also Be Interested In:
FY 16
|
FY 17
|
|
Total
Net School Spending Requirement
|
$194,183,410
|
$199,700,697
|
Actual
Net School Spending
|
$193,357,722
|
$196,198,787
|
Shortfall
|
($825,689)
|
($3,501,910)
|
In order to avoid penalties, the city would have to allocate the
additional monies to the school budget by the end of June. It is unclear
whether the state would permit carryovers up to the customary 5% below
the net school spending requirement as Lynn was under that threshold for
FY16 but the state opted to enact an $825,689 penalty as opposed to
carrying that amount over to FY17.
As previously reported (here here here), this is not the first year that Lynn has dealt with deficits related to its net school spending.
As previously reported (here here here), this is not the first year that Lynn has dealt with deficits related to its net school spending.
Since FY11, Lynn has had school spending deficits in varying amounts.
Looking ahead to FY 18, which begins on July 1, 2017, Lynn is expected to allocate just over $200 million on public education based on preliminary DESE reports (excluding any potential carryovers from FY17). This is based on a student population of 16,852 (including students attending charter and out of district schools).
Approximately, three-quarters of that allocation is to come from Chapter 70 state aid, while the other quarter will come from the city. This has been standard practice in Lynn's education spending as the majority of Lynn's required net school spending has come from Chapter 70 state aid. The House Ways and Means budget currently puts Lynn's Chapter 70 funding allocation slightly higher than the initial projection at $153,442,426 (Sections 2 & 3).
Compliance with net school spending totals is continuously in flux as the fiscal year has not ended and review of spending amounts occurs on an ongoing basis. While this is subject to change, Lynn is still facing a considerable under-funding of public education.
You May Also Be Interested In:
No comments:
Post a Comment