Submitted by State Senator Mike Barrett and State Representative Ken Gordon
The efforts of Rep. Ken Gordon and Sen. Mike Barrett to secure state funding to reimburse Bedford’s cost of educating the children of military families living at Hanscom Air Force Base were rewarded last week, as the State Legislature returned all funding to the state’s budget for the next fiscal year. The consolidated budget was sent to the governor for signature.
The funding — $1.3 million for districts across the state — was left off the first drafts of both the House and Senate budgets. But Barrett and Gordon both successfully inserted amendments to ensure schools hosting military families are compensated as they have been in recent years, and the amendments were included in the final version produced by the Legislature.
“Bedford schools open their doors to kids living on Hanscom but, because federal land and housing are tax exempt, the town can’t collect real estate tax to pay for their education,” Barrett said. “This appropriation compensates Bedford for that.”
Barrett and Gordon said they understood that the funding was a priority early on, after meetings with the school committee and selectmen.
“Town officials were very effective advocates,” said Gordon. “I’m glad we were able to protect the funding in the final budget report. Town residents voiced concern that with an all-freshman delegation on Beacon Hill, Sen. Barrett and I would have difficulty supporting Bedford’s need for this assistance. Well, we replaced any lack of seniority with old fashioned hard work and persuasion and got the job done.”
Bedford’s allocation will be split with Bourne, the only other community in Massachusetts that usually applies for what is known as “impact aid”. The $1.3 million will be divided in proportion to the number of children of military families educated by the towns participating in the pool.
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