Governor Charlie Baker released his House 2 budget to the legislature on January 24th, 2018. The METCO line item, 7010-0012, was funded at $20,642,582, which reflects level-funding to the FY18 allocation.  Although level funding is a good starting point, it is not sufficient to fully fund the program. So, we have work to do. We encourage you to sign this petition encouraging full funding ($23.8M) for the METCO program in the FY19 budget.

In the FY18 GAA, the 37 participating communities received $4,066 per student in education funding plus a transportation allotment for the 3,182 METCO students they educate.  Between FY01 and FY17, Chapter 70 funding (the funding that each student is allotted by the state) has increased by over 58% compared to an increase of only 34% for METCO funding in the same time period.  

The METCO Advisory Committee has recommended $5,000 per student plus transportation. The program’s transportation and education costs continue to rise every year, while state funding for METCO has remained relatively stagnant. There has been no increase in the transportation allotment for METCO since 2008. Without adequate transportation, METCO students are not able to take late buses to participate in their district after school activities, leaving them at a disadvantage and preventing them from fully engaging in their school community.  

The METCO program is in need of this level of funding in order to continue to maintain its high level of success. Please sign this petition encouraging the legislature to support funding the METCO program at $23.8M in the FY19 budget and share it on social media.