Worse than Flat-Funding?

I’m not 100% sure what to make of this just yet, but according to the specific numbers in the House budget plan (H5300, Article 21, substitute A), many Rhode Island communities will get less education aid, in terms of absolute dollars, than they did last year. Here are exact numbers from the text of the bill…








































Community Education Aid
FY 2007
Education Aid
FY 2008 (prop.)
Change From
2007 to 2008
Barrington $2,599,526 $2,599,526 $0
Bristol-Warren $20,498,190 $20,228,190 -$270,000
Burrillville $13,779,743 $13,539,743 -$240,000
Charlestown $2,002,838 $2,002,838 $0
Central Falls $43,313,036 $43,313,036 $0
Chariho $398,334 $398,334 $0
Coventry $20,075,081 $19,955,081 -$120,000
Cranston $35,580,911 $35,460,911 -$120,000
Cumberland $13,257,009 $13,257,009 $0
East Greenwich $1,949,761 $1,844,761 -$105,000
East Providence $26,762,254 $26,132,254 -$630,000
Exeter-West Greenwich $7,661,019 $7,256,019 -$405,000
Foster $1,416,463 $1,416,463 $0
Foster-Glocester $5,729,861 $5,729,861 $0
Glocester $3,213,847 $3,213,847 $0
Hopkinton $6,241,352 $6,241,352 $0
Jamestown $531,908 $531,908 $0
Johnston $10,915,364 $10,615,364 -$300,000
Lincoln $7,403,268 $7,283,268 -$120,000
Little Compton $368,810 $368,810 $0
Middletown $10,497,116 $10,077,116 -$420,000
Narragansett $1,897,159 $1,897,159 $0
Newport $11,796,080 $11,316,080 -$480,000
New Shoreham $106,345 $106,345 $0
North Kingstown $11,986,005 $11,986,005 $0
North Providence $13,232,872 $13,142,872 -$90,000
North Smithfield $4,834,237 $4,714,237 -$120,000
Pawtucket $66,858,559 $66,003,559 -$855,000
Portsmouth $6,250,042 $6,130,042 -$120,000
Providence $193,974,756 $190,824,756 -$3,150,000
Richmond $6,188,615 $6,188,615 $0
Scituate $3,407,183 $3,407,183 $0
Smithfield $5,668,568 $5,428,568 -$240,000
South Kingstown $10,428,698 $10,173,698 -$255,000
Tiverton $5,932,058 $5,932,058 $0
Warwick $37,626,000 $37,266,000 -$360,000
Westerly $6,843,077 $6,843,077 $0
West Warwick $20,440,547 $20,440,547 $0
Woonsocket $47,616,613 $47,016,613 -$600,000
In Governor Carcieri’s original proposal, the FY2008 aid number was 3% greater than the FY2007 number for every community except for Central Falls (which got an 8.25% increase), so if there’s an appropriation elsewhere in the budget that offsets these losses, it’s something that wasn’t in the Governor’s proposal, and something that the legislature hasn’t provided any clear details to the public on.

Anybody have any idea what’s happening here?

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SusanD
SusanD
17 years ago

No, but great catch, Andrew. Maybe flat funding is a new euphemism for reduction.

Hmmmmm
Hmmmmm
17 years ago

It seems that adding back education related group home aid, calculated on a per bed basis and previously aggregated in state aid to education figures, will likely bring the figures back to even.

Hmmmmm
Hmmmmm
17 years ago

You found the relevant section. As you noted, if you go to the Sub A of Budget Article 21, start reading from the revisions starting about the middle of page 14 – note that in addition to allowing for mid-year adjustments, full funding for group home education costs is specified. Then, check the Dept of Ed’s website for the allocations made last year, and you will see that the amounts for group homes were backed out of the revised education aid figures.
I am cynical on the opposite side of the formula issue – there will be no funding formula without funding, because of the potential litigation that could follow an unfunded formula.

SusanD
SusanD
17 years ago

This is interesting. So local aid to group homes was always under the category of education aid? But this year, they backed it out of the education category? Was there some nefarious (or other) reason they did this?

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