The year on Beacon Hill is starting with renewed momentum to overhaul the state’s troubled, 26-year-old school funding formula, which critics say now perpetuates inequality in education by short-changing some communities and favoring others.
After efforts to rewrite the formula collapsed at the end of the Legislature’s formal session last July, Governor Charlie Baker kicked off his second term last week vowing that Massachusetts “can and must do better” to bridge the gap between urban and suburban school performance.
He said he plans to file a bill to rewrite the funding formula — a signal that he is interested in going further than the changes he has proposed in the past. House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo has voiced support for tackling the issue. Senate President Karen E. Spilka says it’s a top priority for her chamber.