The House and Senate passed the FY25 budget on July 19. The state budget is now headed to the governor’s desk for her review. These spreadsheets provide specifics about K-12 and Higher Education funding in the FY25 Conference Committee budget.
The state budget that emerged on July 18 from the State House includes many significant investments in public education, a tremendous benefit for the students and families of Massachusetts and a testament to the significance of the Fair Share Amendment and educators’ advocacy for more equitable state funding for public schools.
Thanks to the Fair Share Amendment that raises money for public education and transportation through a surtax on the wealthiest people in the state — those with annual incomes above $1 million — every Massachusetts resident can attend community college knowing that their tuition and mandatory fees are covered. Working class students will get additional funds that will help them afford some of the additional costs of attending college.
The MTA will be advocating for the conference committee to include in the final budget MTA-backed policies and funding levels from the House and Senate budgets.
Early in the morning of May 24, the state Senate passed its FY25 budget after several days of debate. Dozens of budget amendments were adopted during this process, including several MTA-backed proposals related to public education. Notably, the Senate adopted amendments to further increase rural school aid to $17.5 million, which is $10 million higher than in the House budget, and to raise minimum Chapter 70 aid to $110 per student.
It is important to note, however, that the FY25 state budget is not yet final. Now that the Senate has approved its budget, members of the Senate and House will soon be appointed to a legislative conference committee charged with reconciling the differences in the appropriations bills passed by each chamber. The MTA will be advocating that the conference committee include in the final budget MTA-backed policies and funding levels from the House and Senate budgets, respectively.
The SWM budget includes several significant higher education initiatives, all made possible by our Fair Share victory.
Across the Commonwealth, school districts are facing a severe funding crisis due to two years of very high inflation coupled with state policies that limit state and local revenue for education. This is leading to districts across the socioeconomic spectrum facing millions of dollars in cuts, and resulting in the potential loss of educators who are essential for our students. In public higher education, the budget maintains and makes some new commitments from the Fair Share Amendment funds, but does not advance a comprehensive approach to investing in debt-free, high-quality public higher education.
The House Committee on Ways and Means budget shows an understanding of this crisis. The committee proposes an additional $37 million in local education aid above the amount proposed by Governor Maura Healey. It also makes important long-term investments in attracting and retaining a high-quality and diverse educator workforce by funding the Tomorrow’s Teachers scholarship and loan forgiveness programs, so that people who want to dedicate their careers to educating Massachusetts students don’t need to go deeply into debt to be able to do so.
A summary of preK-12, higher education spending in House 2, the governor's proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts on July 1, 2024.
Step-by-step guide to the state budget process.
MassBudget provides independent research and analysis of state budget, tax policies and more.
A roadmap to overriding Proposition 2 1/2.