Wednesday, June 20th: Final Day of School Year.

Just a reminder that Wednesday, June 20th will be the final day of the 2017-18 school year in Marshfield.  It will be an early release in all schools across the district.

Full Funding of FY19 Circuit Breaker

Below is a note I sent to the Senate/House FY19 Budget Conference Committee in hopes of seeing appropriate funding for the state's Special Education Circuit Breaker Account:

Dear Chairman Sanchez, Chairwoman Spilka and Conference Committee Members:

My name is Jeffrey Granatino and I am the superintendent of schools in Marshfield.  I want to thank you for your commitment to supporting students with special needs in the House and Senate versions of the Fiscal Year 2019 (FY’19) state budget.

The Special Education Circuit Breaker Account (7061-0012) is a critically important resource to school districts in our continued attempts to provide the highest quality education to both regular education and special education students across the state. We hope to see the Legislature's continued support for the Circuit Breaker because it is provides collective ownership of all in the state for those students who have the most significant needs. It enables our school districts to budget reasonably, without disruptive budget swings due to students with significant special needs who require high cost placements in private special education schools.

However, as the Conference Committee sets out to begin its deliberations, I am nervous that Circuit Breaker funding may not be sufficient to meet the state’s commitment of 75% above four times the foundation budget. I respectfully ask that you continue supporting increased funding for the Special Education Circuit Breaker Account by funding this important line-item at the Senate appropriation of $319.3 million in the Conference Committee Budget. This funding is essentially a form of local aid to cities and towns. Since 2004, a year after the Circuit Breaker went into effect, the average reimbursement level has been 74% and most years districts were reimbursed at the 75% level. The Senate appropriation closely parallels fully-funding the Circuit Breaker Account in FY’19 and reimburse communities at the 75% level required by law.

Once again, thank you so much for understanding the challenges faced every day by children with special needs and for your commitment to supporting those needs. I, along with Superintendents from across the Commonwealth, appreciate all the efforts of you and your colleagues.

Sincerely

Jeffrey W. Granatino
Superintendent