The numbers game

The winners and losers switched places this week in the game of local aid.

On Wednesday, the House and the Senate agreed to increase state aid to cities and towns in the FY08 budget by $235.1 million, a 4.9 percent hike over last year. The major increases are coming to Chapter 70 funding for public schools and lottery aid.

The numbers that were released made people in the North Middlesex Regional School District very happy. According to state Sen. Robert Antonioni's office, under the joint resolution the district will receive $271,908 over the amount proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick. It is clear that the residents in Ashby and Townsend should expect their proposed override figure to go down if the aid numbers are accepted in the final budget.

Unfortunately, Ashburnham and Westminster may see their override numbers go up as the state reduced their share of Chapter 70 by $39,795.

One more step exists before these numbers are finalized - the Patrick must approve the budget. Lots of debate will take place between now and then, so the final takeaway from the state is still unclear. Nobody knows the final numbers for regional transportation reimbursement for special education, or circuit breaker reimbursements.

In a game of give and take it is hard to determine who will come away with the small amount of money that is out there.

Antonioni said three-quarters of the cities and towns received more money under the joint resolution than in the governor's proposal. He said these numbers accurately represent the new Chapter 70 formula that was developed last year.

"The numbers in the governor's budget came out flawed," Antonioni said. "I'm glad that we caught the error."

The full impact on Ashburnham and Westminster is yet to be known.

Antonioni is right when he says that school districts should be able to count on a consistent formula. So far this new formula hasn't provided that consistency.

The formula should get one more chance. Next year, if the numbers between the Legislature and the governor don't work together, there is little hope in trying to get a coherent budget passed in the local towns and school district until July, when a final state budget is passed.