State education leaders and advocates are slamming the Legislature for failing to take up the long-anticipated education foundation budget recommendations before this year’s session ended — an omission that may be ammunition for districts to launch a lawsuit against the state and to start a new statewide teacher-led campaign.
The Joint Committee on Education was down to the wire to update the 25-year-old education foundation budget formula. A 2015 review commission found the formula was underfunding schools by $1 billion to $2 billion a year in four specific areas — health benefits for teachers, special education, costs for English language learners and costs for low-income students.
Negotiations, however, collapsed in the final hour Tuesday, leaving many livid. The dead-end talks came as Brockton school officials and others around the state are exploring whether to sue the state over inadequate school aid.