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News:
State Approves Randolph School Plan
Randolph Parent Engagement Initiative Gets Green Light from Senate
Senate Budget Contains Randolph Youth Violence Funds
Dear Randolph Town Meeting Member,
We’ve just completed the Senate’s version of the FY 2009 budget last week and it contains some good news for Randolph.
In keeping with my promise to you at the last Town Meeting, we’ve moved to further strengthen the town’s public safety and public schools.
We included $100,000 to continue the Randolph Police Department’s successful Youth Violence and Street Crimes Unit. This task force, formed in July 2007 after the murders of two young men barely a week apart, has helped reduce violent crime and facilitated a community driven response that has identified individuals and gangs engaged in violent activities. The Randolph officers assigned to the unit collaborate with the Boston Police Department and other departments in this effort. In December, 2007, Chief Porter and I were successful in lobbying for $120,000 in state funds for this effort; these funds would be additional.
I also secured $200,000 in the Senate’s budget to help fund a pilot program designed to foster greater parental and community involvement with the Randolph Public Schools. This program will target one of the major obstacles to school district success in Randolph, as identified by the Department of Education during their review: insufficient parental and community involvement. It is the aim of this pilot program to reach out to parents and community members with the message that we are all stakeholders when it comes to public education.
Additional highlights in the Senate’s budget include:
- $50,000 for MY TURN, Inc, the award-winning youth services organization which provides alternative educational services to Randolph youth.
- Over $1 million in additional funding for home care programming, which assists elders with personal and supportive services allowing them to remain in the community.
- $138.4 million or 8.1 percent increase for housing programs.
Prior to the budget debate, Representatives Bruce Ayers, Joseph Driscoll, Walter Timilty, and I voted to pass a Joint Local Aid Resolution containing good news for Randolph.
- Randolph will receive a $332,711 increase in Chapter 70 state aid to schools over last year surpassing the $12 million mark. ($12,185,588 compared to $11,852,877 in FY08)
- Overall Local Aid to Randolph is $19,928,557 compared to $19,488,150 in FY08.
In addition, thanks to Special Education (SPED) Circuit Breaker legislation I co-sponsored, Randolph will be reimbursed over $1 million for Fiscal Year 2008 SPED expenditures.
Also, the Senate budget includes a $94,967 in PILOT money. The PILOT Program, or Payment In Lieu Of Taxes program, reimburses cities and towns for lost property taxes from state-owned land within the municipality, as this land cannot generate income for the municipality. In 2005, I included Randolph on the list of eligible PILOT communities. Since that time, Randolph has received almost $180,000 in additional state funds.
We continue our focus at the State House on strengthening the Massachusetts economy. These economic development initiatives are aimed at creating good jobs, fortifying our transportation infrastructure, increasing our affordable housing supply and ensuring quality, affordable health insurance for every resident.
The Senate approved a life sciences bill which provides $500 million in capital funding for life sciences construction and improvement projects and supports $250 million in tax incentives for life sciences companies that commit to job creation. We’ve already seen the positive results in my district as Organogenesis announced that it will add several hundred jobs (with an average salary of $77,000) and build its world headquarters in Canton.
We also passed a $1.35 billion housing bond bill that I authored with Representative Honan of Boston. This legislation will help develop and preserve a diverse housing stock throughout Massachusetts, and help meet the demand for affordable housing among seniors and the disabled while enabling more young families to stay in Massachusetts and strengthen our economy.
The Senate also recently passed the next phase of the Commonwealth’s two-year-old health care reform with a package of new initiatives aimed at bringing down escalating health care costs and creating greater access to primary care.
This comprehensive plan seeks to build on the success we have had in Massachusetts ensuring access to quality, affordable health care for everyone. Spiraling costs threaten to derail our progress and this bill provides the tools needed to help contain them.
Together we face a tough economic outlook at the local, state and national level. I am very encouraged however by the commitment to economic development shown by my colleagues at the State House and the men and women serving their communities in town government. This is a partnership which will help Massachusetts weather the difficult challenges ahead.
I am happy to hear your thoughts and suggestions at my office (617-722-1643), home (617-696-0200) or by e-mail (BJoyce@senate.state.ma.us). Thank you for the continued opportunity to work on your behalf.
Sincerely,
BRIAN A. JOYCE
State Senator
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