Gov. Charlie Baker rolled out a $42.7 billion state budget Wednesday, accompanied by a plan to overhaul the state’s 25-year-old education funding formula that critics contend shortchanges many students with special needs and those from low-income, minority or immigrant families.
The Republican’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 calls for a 1.5 percent increase over what Massachusetts is projected to spend in the current fiscal year. It would not raise any broad-based state taxes, but does propose a new tax on pharmaceutical companies that sell opioid medications and a previously announced hike in the real estate transfer tax to pay for a climate change initiative.
Central to Baker’s plan, however, are his proposed changes to what’s known as the Foundation Budget, a 25-year-old formula meant to ensure that public schools have adequate money to serve the educational needs of all children.