We’re hearing a lot of discussion about fixing Chapter 70 lately. I believe part of that discussion should be the question of the source of the funding that would be required for that. I recently had an exchange with Rep. Jamie Eldridge on this topic. I asked him whether Harvard getting extra state funding for education would mean that other towns would get less and if so, how would those decisions be made. He assured me that the plan is to have the changes be only additive; some towns, presumably including Harvard, would get more than they are getting now but no town would get less.
So I asked where this “extra” state money would come from, since it didn’t seem there was a surplus in the state budget. His answer was that the extra revenue would come from “closing corporate tax loopholes,” which I think is a nice way of saying raising taxes on businesses. With the country and the state on the brink of recession (if not already in recession) I’m not sure raising taxes on businesses is the right course. And even if I thought it was the correct way to go I’m not sure there will be support for this in the State House.
I think this has to be considered before we count on extra state funding to solve our budget problems.
Brian Schimpf
Littleton Road
