Massachusetts House leaders want to spend more on K-12 education than Governor Charlie Baker does, presenting a budget Wednesday that indicates they’re pursuing a more generous tack in revamping the state’s troubled education funding formula.
But just how generous remains to be seen. The $42.7 billion budget proposal contained few specifics on the broader effort underway to overhaul the state’s public education funding formula, which has emerged as a key priority on Beacon Hill this year.
The House budget proposal — the first under new chair Aaron Michlewitz — also avoided weighing in on another major policy debate swirling on Beacon Hill: whether, and how, to raise taxes. House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said the House will have “further discussion” on potentially drumming up new revenue later this year. The House will debate the plan later this month, and after the Senate weighs in, lawmakers will hammer out a final version to send to Baker for the fiscal year starting July 1.