Both the Boston Globe and Lowell Sun are reporting that Gov. Deval Patrick will tell municipal leaders tomorrow morning that he will spare schools from massive budget cuts this year as he moves to close a $1.1 billion budget hole.
The governor, who plans to announce cuts to this year’s budget by next Wednesday (January 28, 2009), has decided to leave Chapter 70 aid to public schools intact, according to an administration source briefed on the speech.
Patrick will speak in Boston tomorrow morning at the annual Massachusetts Municipal Association breakfast, where aides say he will discuss various opportunities for local and state government to form partnerships.
The administration source declined to elaborate on where the cuts will come, and how deep other areas of local aid, such as lottery assistance, will be impacted. It is also difficult to understand how these cuts will not impact education at the local level. Most communities (Franklin included) maintain one pot of funds for all municipal needs. Telling communities that education will be spared is inaccurate under that scenario.
For the Boston Globe report, click here. For the Lowell Sun report, click here.
You can review the text and/or video of the Governor’s remarks by clicking here.
