Massachusetts schools to receive highest public school funding in history

Historic level due to state-federal partnership

$204 million in federal Education Jobs Funds will save teacher positions

Governor Deval Patrick today allocated $204 million from the federal Education Jobs Fund to school districts across the Commonwealth, bringing state support for public schools to its highest level in history. A combination of state and federal dollars totaling $4.07 billion will ensure all school districts receive more state aid - at least $25 per student - than they did last year.

The new funding, which follows yesterday's announcement that Massachusetts secured $250 million in federal Race to the Top dollars, will support an estimated 2,700 teaching positions.

"Great schools are the key to our future, and great teachers are the key to great schools," said Governor Patrick. "With this significant infusion of funds, we are building a better, stronger future for our kids, our communities and our Commonwealth."

On Tuesday, August 10th, President Obama signed the Education Jobs Fund into law, providing $26 billion nationwide to preserve jobs for teachers and other school-based employees. The Commonwealth's $204 million appropriation will be directly distributed to school districts through the state's education funding formula and combined with state and federal funds to ensure that every school district across the state meets its foundation level budget for the 2010-2011 school year. With this new infusion of federal funding, the Governor is able to fully fund Chapter 70 without the need to use about $60 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds available for general government purposes.

Governor Patrick strongly advocated to ensure that ARRA included funding to mitigate state reductions in education funding driven by the recession. As a result, Massachusetts received $2 billion in federal recovery funds dedicated solely to pre-K-12 and higher education. The Governor has directed more than $600 million in federal recovery dollars to school districts over the past two years in order to shore up school budgets during the global economic crisis.

Additionally, this year the state will commit nearly $3.85 billion in Chapter 70 education funds to cities and towns. By combining these state dollars with $204 million in Education Jobs Funds and $20.7 million in existing ARRA funds, Governor Patrick has ensured that the state will meet its commitment to helping every school district reach foundation level spending targets in Fiscal Year 2011.

The complete funding list is here.  Below are the numbers for Cape Cod:

Courtesy of the Governor's Office.