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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2748 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 538 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Leigh Davis |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act regarding school regionalization. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Leigh Davis3rd Berkshire1/16/2025Natalie M. Blais1st Franklin2/18/2025 1 of 7 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2748 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 538 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Davis of Great Barrington, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 538) |
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| 19 | 19 | | of Leigh Davis and Natalie M. Blais relative to regional schools. Education. |
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| 20 | 20 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
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| 22 | 22 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | An Act regarding school regionalization. |
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| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 27 | 27 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 15 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following |
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| 29 | 29 | | 2section:- |
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| 30 | 30 | | 3 Section 67. (a) There shall be within the department an office of shared services, which |
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| 31 | 31 | | 4shall be under the supervision and management of the director of shared services. The director |
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| 32 | 32 | | 5shall be appointed by the commissioner. |
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| 33 | 33 | | 6 (b) The office of shared services shall oversee the formation of regional school districts |
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| 34 | 34 | | 7and superintendent unions in the commonwealth. The director of shared services shall assist |
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| 35 | 35 | | 8school districts that are considering forming or are in the process of forming regional school |
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| 36 | 36 | | 9districts and superintendent unions with the research, development and execution of shared |
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| 37 | 37 | | 10services projects and shared services agreements. |
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| 38 | 38 | | 11 SECTION 2. Section 10 of chapter 70B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding |
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| 39 | 39 | | 12the following subsection:- 2 of 7 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 13 (d) Notwithstanding the first paragraph of this section, the grant percentage for approved |
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| 41 | 41 | | 14school facilities projects in regional school districts shall be at least ninety percent. |
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| 42 | 42 | | 15 SECTION 3. Said chapter 70B of the General Laws is hereby further amended by adding |
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| 43 | 43 | | 16the following section:- |
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| 44 | 44 | | 17 Section 22. (a) Upon the closure of a school as a result of a school district regionalization |
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| 45 | 45 | | 18effort, the authority shall relieve any debt that was accrued as a result of the establishment and |
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| 46 | 46 | | 19maintenance of the school’s facilities that is owed to the authority by the municipality wherein |
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| 47 | 47 | | 20the school is located. |
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| 48 | 48 | | 21 (b) Upon the closure of a school as a result of a school district regionalization effort, the |
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| 49 | 49 | | 22authority, in collaboration with the executive office of economic development, shall offer |
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| 50 | 50 | | 23assistance to the municipality wherein the school is located for the development of a plan for |
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| 51 | 51 | | 24demolition or use of the school building for other purposes, including any technical assistance |
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| 52 | 52 | | 25for school building reuse and the retrofitting of school buildings for other purposes. |
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| 53 | 53 | | 26 SECTION 4. Section 16D of said chapter 71, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is |
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| 54 | 54 | | 27hereby amended by striking out subsection (g) and inserting in place thereof the following |
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| 55 | 55 | | 28subsection:- |
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| 56 | 56 | | 29 (g) A regional school district shall receive state aid for the transitional costs associated |
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| 57 | 57 | | 30with the establishment of the regional school district. A regional school district shall be entitled |
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| 58 | 58 | | 31to aid under this subsection for the first three years of its operation. The state treasurer shall, |
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| 59 | 59 | | 32upon certification by the commissioner, annually, on or before November twentieth, pay to each |
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| 60 | 60 | | 33regional school district in its first three years of operation two-hundred dollars per pupil enrolled |
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| 61 | 61 | | 34by the regional school district. 3 of 7 |
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| 62 | 62 | | 35 SECTION 5. Said section 16D of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby further |
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| 63 | 63 | | 36amended by adding the following subsection:- |
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| 64 | 64 | | 37 (h) A regional school district shall receive state aid to cover the salaries of temporary |
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| 65 | 65 | | 38school district employees, including, but limited to, an assistant superintendent, assistant |
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| 66 | 66 | | 39business manager, assistant information technology director and assistant pupil services director. |
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| 67 | 67 | | 40A regional school district shall receive aid under this subsection for the first 2 years of its |
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| 68 | 68 | | 41operation. The state treasurer shall, upon certification by the commissioner, annually, on or |
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| 69 | 69 | | 42before November twentieth, pay to each regional school district in its first 2 years of operation a |
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| 70 | 70 | | 43sum to be determined by the commissioner. |
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| 71 | 71 | | 44 SECTION 6. Said chapter 71 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 16I the |
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| 72 | 72 | | 45following 3 sections:- |
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| 73 | 73 | | 46 Section 16J. (a) There is hereby established and set upon the books of the commonwealth |
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| 74 | 74 | | 47a separate fund known as the School District Regionalization Grant Fund. The fund shall be |
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| 75 | 75 | | 48credited with: (i) appropriations or other money authorized or transferred by the general court |
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| 76 | 76 | | 49and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources, |
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| 77 | 77 | | 50including, but not limited to gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) any interest earned on such |
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| 78 | 78 | | 51money. Amounts credited shall not be subject to appropriation and shall be expended by the |
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| 79 | 79 | | 52department to fund a grant program for the study, planning and implementation of school district |
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| 80 | 80 | | 53regionalization efforts to be administered by the department in accordance with this section; and |
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| 81 | 81 | | 54provided further, that grant funds awarded pursuant to this section shall be distributed evenly |
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| 82 | 82 | | 55over a 3 year period. 4 of 7 |
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| 83 | 83 | | 56 (b) A qualified school eligible for funding are towns and regional school districts, |
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| 84 | 84 | | 57excluding vocational schools, independent agricultural, technical schools and charter schools; |
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| 85 | 85 | | 58provided, that a school district shall be eligible for a school district regionalization grant if it is |
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| 86 | 86 | | 59considering forming, is in the process of forming or has formed within the past 5 years a regional |
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| 87 | 87 | | 60school district or regionalizing services; provided, that, that school district regionalization grants |
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| 88 | 88 | | 61shall be allocated equitably in the following priority order: (i) school districts with significant |
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| 89 | 89 | | 62enrollment decline as defined by the department of elementary and secondary education; (ii) |
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| 90 | 90 | | 63school districts where existing school space is underutilized; and (iii) school districts where the |
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| 91 | 91 | | 64regionalization proposal will produce significant expansion of available academic resources and |
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| 92 | 92 | | 65supports as a result of cost savings. |
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| 93 | 93 | | 66 (c) Annually, not later than February 1, any district receiving funds under this item shall |
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| 94 | 94 | | 67submit a report to the department outlining the progress the district has made in studying, |
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| 95 | 95 | | 68planning or implementing regionalization or regionalization services. |
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| 96 | 96 | | 69 (d) Annually, not later than December 1, the department shall submit a report to the |
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| 97 | 97 | | 70house and senate committees on ways and means detailing the calculation and planned |
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| 98 | 98 | | 71distribution of funds to school districts; provided, that, funds distributed from this section shall |
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| 99 | 99 | | 72not be considered chapter 70 aid for the calculation of the minimum required local contribution |
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| 100 | 100 | | 73for the upcoming fiscal year. |
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| 101 | 101 | | 74 (e) Every 5 years, the department shall determine the adequacy of funding for the |
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| 102 | 102 | | 75purposes of this section and recommend to the general court any necessary adjustment. |
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| 103 | 103 | | 76 (f) A grant awarded to a school district pursuant to this section shall not exceed one |
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| 104 | 104 | | 77million five hundred thousand dollars over a 3 year period. 5 of 7 |
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| 105 | 105 | | 78 Section 16K. (a) There is hereby established and set upon the books of the |
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| 106 | 106 | | 79commonwealth a separate fund known as the Regional School District Foundational Aid Fund. |
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| 107 | 107 | | 80The fund shall be credited with: (i) appropriations or other money authorized or transferred by |
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| 108 | 108 | | 81the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and |
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| 109 | 109 | | 82private sources, including, but not limited to gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) any interest |
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| 110 | 110 | | 83earned on such money. Amounts credited shall not be subject to appropriation and shall be |
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| 111 | 111 | | 84expended by the department to fund a grant program for regional school districts that experience |
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| 112 | 112 | | 85a drop in foundational aid as a result of regionalization to be administered by the department in |
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| 113 | 113 | | 86accordance with this section. |
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| 114 | 114 | | 87 (b) A qualified school eligible for funding are regional school districts, excluding |
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| 115 | 115 | | 88vocational schools, independent agricultural, technical schools and charter schools; provided, |
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| 116 | 116 | | 89that any regional school district within its first 5 years of operation that has received less |
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| 117 | 117 | | 90foundational aid than any of its member school districts received in the 5 years preceding |
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| 118 | 118 | | 91regionalization shall be entitled to a grant equal to the difference in foundational funding |
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| 119 | 119 | | 92between the member school district prior to regionalization and the foundational funding |
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| 120 | 120 | | 93received by the regional school district. |
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| 121 | 121 | | 94 (c) Annually, not later than December first, the department shall submit a report to the |
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| 122 | 122 | | 95house and senate committees on ways and means detailing the calculation and planned |
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| 123 | 123 | | 96distribution of funds to school districts; provided, that, funds distributed from this section shall |
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| 124 | 124 | | 97not be considered chapter 70 aid for the calculation of the minimum required local contribution |
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| 125 | 125 | | 98for the upcoming fiscal year. 6 of 7 |
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| 126 | 126 | | 99 (d) Every 5 years, the department shall determine the adequacy of funding for the |
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| 127 | 127 | | 100purposes of this section and recommend to the general court any necessary adjustment. |
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| 128 | 128 | | 101 Section 16L. (a) There is hereby established and set upon the books of the |
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| 129 | 129 | | 102commonwealth a separate fund known as the Superintendent Union Formation Grant Fund. The |
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| 130 | 130 | | 103fund shall be credited with: (i) appropriations or other money authorized or transferred by the |
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| 131 | 131 | | 104general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and |
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| 132 | 132 | | 105private sources, including, but not limited to gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) any interest |
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| 133 | 133 | | 106earned on such money. Amounts credited shall not be subject to appropriation and shall be |
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| 134 | 134 | | 107expended by the department to fund a grant program for the development of superintendent |
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| 135 | 135 | | 108unions to be administered by the department in accordance with this section. |
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| 136 | 136 | | 109 (b) A qualified school eligible for funding are school districts, excluding vocational |
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| 137 | 137 | | 110schools, independent agricultural, technical schools and charter schools; provided, that a school |
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| 138 | 138 | | 111district shall be eligible for a superintendent union formation grant if (i) school district |
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| 139 | 139 | | 112regionalization is not desired by the school district community or is not practicable for any |
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| 140 | 140 | | 113reason and (ii) the school district is considering forming, is in the process of forming or has |
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| 141 | 141 | | 114formed within the past 5 years a superintendent union pursuant to section 61. |
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| 142 | 142 | | 115 (c) Annually, not later than February first, any district receiving funds under this item |
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| 143 | 143 | | 116shall submit a report to the department outlining progress the district has made in studying, |
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| 144 | 144 | | 117planning or implementing a superintendent union. |
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| 145 | 145 | | 118 (d) Annually, not later than December first, the department shall submit a report to the |
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| 146 | 146 | | 119house and senate committees on ways and means detailing the calculation and planned |
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| 147 | 147 | | 120distribution of funds to school districts; provided, that, funds distributed from this section shall 7 of 7 |
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| 148 | 148 | | 121not be considered chapter 70 aid for the calculation of the minimum required local contribution |
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| 149 | 149 | | 122for the upcoming fiscal year. |
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| 150 | 150 | | 123 (e) Every 5 years, the department shall determine the adequacy of funding for the |
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| 151 | 151 | | 124purposes of this section and recommend to the general court any necessary adjustment. |
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| 152 | 152 | | 125 (f) A grant awarded pursuant to this section shall not exceed two hundred and fifty- |
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| 153 | 153 | | 126thousand dollars annually. |
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