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Local Aid

SECTION 3.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006 the distribution to cities and towns of the balance of the State Lottery Fund, as paid by the treasurer from the General Fund in accordance with clause (c) of the second paragraph of section 35 of chapter 10 of the General Laws, shall be $761,378,162 and shall be apportioned to the cities and towns in accordance with this section.  The amount of any balance in the State Lottery Fund at the end of the fiscal year shall be transferred to the General Fund.

                Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the total amounts to be distributed and paid to each city and town from item 0611-5500 of section 2 shall be as set forth in the following lists.   The amounts to be distributed from said item 0611-5500 of said section 2 shall be in full satisfaction of the amounts due under section 37 of chapter 21 of the General Laws.

                Notwithstanding section 2 of chapter 70 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, except for section 12B of chapter 76 and section 89 of chapter 71 of the General Laws, for fiscal year 2006 the total amounts to be distributed and paid to each city and town from item 7061-0008 of section 2 shall be as set forth in the following lists.  The specified amounts to be distributed from said item 7061-0008 of said section 2 shall be in full satisfaction of the amounts due under sections 3, 6 and 7 of chapter 70 of the General Laws, in this section called chapter 70 aid. For fiscal year 2006, in the calculation of the foundation budget for each district, no school district shall have a wage adjustment factor less than one. Minimum required local contributions for fiscal year 2006 shall be calculated as for house bill 1, as submitted by the governor in January of 2005, and shall equal preliminary local contribution in fiscal year 2005 increased or decreased by the municipal revenue growth factor. For the purposes of calculating municipal revenue growth factors, general revenue sharing aid for every city and town shall be calculated based on the amount of assistance from the Commonwealth budgeted in house bill 1, as submitted by the governor in January of 2005.  For fiscal year 2006, chapter 70 aid shall be the difference between a district's foundation budget and the sum of that district's share of preliminary local contributions of member communities as determined by the department of education.  Additional aid shall be added such that every operational district receives an increase over fiscal year 2005, which is at least equal to $50 per student.  No district shall receive chapter 70 aid in an amount greater than the district's foundation budget.  If there is a conflict between the language of this section and the distribution listed below, the distribution below shall control.

                The department shall not consider health care costs for retired teachers to be part of net school spending for any district in which such costs were not considered part of net school spending in fiscal year 1994.

                In fiscal years 2007 and thereafter, if the closure of a power plant results in the loss of property tax and, in the fiscal year before its closure, that power plant represented 20 per cent or more of the tax levy on industrial property in any city or town, the department of education shall reduce that city or town’s required local contribution to its local school district, as determined by the department in accordance with chapter 70 of the General Laws, proportionally The department shall determine the percent of total municipal revenue expended for school purposes, apply said percentage to the amount of the total commercial, industrial, and real property tax attributable to the closed plant paid to the city or town in the previous fiscal year, and shall reduce the minimum required contribution by said amount.  For each school district affected by the reduction in minimum contribution for said city or town, the department shall calculate the amount of aid necessary to offset the loss of local spending, and shall increase prior-year chapter 70 aid by that amount when calculating chapter 70 aid due in the following fiscal year.  Under no circumstances shall changes pursuant to this paragraph result in required net school spending of the municipal school district or any school district or any district of which that town is a member, defined as the combination of minimum required contribution and state chapter 70 aid, below the foundation level of spending calculated by the department under chapter 70 of the General Laws.

No payments to cities, towns, or counties maintaining an agricultural school pursuant to this section shall be made after November 30 of the fiscal year by the state treasurer until he receives certification from the commissioner of revenue of the commissioner's acceptance of the prior fiscal year's annual financial reports submitted pursuant to section 43 of chapter 44 of the General Laws. The state treasurer shall make advance payments for some or all of periodic local reimbursement or assistance programs to any city, town, regional school district, or independent agricultural and technical school that demonstrates an emergency cash shortfall, as certified by the commissioner of revenue and approved by the secretary of administration and finance, pursuant to guidelines established by the secretary.