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Romney vetoes put progress in jeopardy

After three years of severe cuts to public education, pre-K through graduate school, modest funding was restored.  However, pre-K-12 is still more than $73 million below funding for FY03 and higher education funding is more than $180 million below FY01.  Given the recent decision by Judge Margot Botsford in the Hancock v. Driscoll case that funding for pre-K-12 education is not meeting the constitutional requirement established in the McDuffy case, the state's very modest funding increases do little to satisfy that requirement.

Gov. Romney vetoed approximately $108 million from a budget of $22.4 billion.  Since Romney had made clear his intent to veto any tax increase and, in fact, has proposed another tax rollback in his recent supplemental appropriation, the FY05 budget contains no tax increase. It relies on temporary revenues to close the budget deficit.  While revenues are exceeding projections for FY04, they are, however, unlikely to close the structural deficit.

MTA is very concerned that in communities where there are Commonwealth Charter Schools, these schools have drained funds from the local school districts. The Governor vetoed the charter school moratorium that halts the opening of Commonwealth Charter Schools until an equitable funding formula is developed. Also, Romney vetoed almost $7 million that the Department of Education can provide to school districts to meet extraordinary needs during the year.