Rep. Ken Gordon Votes For State Budget That Includes Funding For District

Representative Ken Gordon joined his colleagues in the House of Representatives in passing a $58 billion Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget proposal. The House budget included local funding for the 21st Middlesex District as well as critical investments in transportation, childcare, and K-12 education.

“I am proud of the investments made in this FY25 budget that will continue to provide necessary support to our communities”, said Representative Gordon. “This budget includes significant funding in transportation, early education and childcare, K-12 education, and beyond for key programs and services that meet the needs of our residents.”

Representative Gordon secured direct funding for the 21st Middlesex District and organizations that serve his communities, including:

• $1,375,000 for the education of students of families living on military bases such as Hanscom AFB, from which Bedford’s share will be allocated;
• $75,000 for a performance platform in the town of Bedford for cultural events;
• $75,000 for the town of Burlington’s Council on Aging to support the salary of a full-time social worker;
• $150,000 to support the critical care operations of Boston MedFlight at Hanscom Air Force Base; and
• $500,000 for Lahey Hospital & Medical Center to establish a psychiatry residency training program in the town of Burlington

Additionally, the House budget includes funding and updates to early childhood education and care consistent with legislation filed by Representative Gordon earlier this session. This funding includes, but is not limited to:

• $475 million for Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants
• $417 million for child care for low-income families
• $30 million to reduce the income-eligible waitlist
• $17.5 million for Head Start grants
• $10 million for an EEC educator scholarship program
• $10 million for an EEC educator loan forgiveness program

The House budget includes $45 million to sustain FY24 rate increases and provides an additional $20 million in FY25 rate increases for child care providers across the Commonwealth.

Legislation filed by Rep. Gordon to expand access to child care in the Commonwealth by increasing the allowed number of children cared for by a large family child care provider was included in this House budget. This legislation will help providers sustain their business while retaining the provider-to-child ratio and not compromising the quality of care.

In addition to early education and child care, the FY25 House budget also invests significantly in K-12 education. The budget funds the fourth year of a six-year implementation plan for the Student Opportunity Act (SOA), which was enacted in 2019 to ensure that public schools have the necessary resources to provide high-quality education to students, regardless of zip code or income level. Along with funding for the SOA, the budget includes $6.863 billion for Chapter 70 education funding and $1.283 billion for Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA). Importantly, this budget continues to fully fund universal free school meals programming for every public-school student in the state. Since the start of this program in 2019, more than 100,000 additional children ate school lunch daily through October 2023.

Record investments, of $555 million, in the MBTA are included in this FY25 House budget, along with $184 million for the Regional Transit Authorities that serve commuters across the Commonwealth. Some of these investments include:

• $314 million operating transfer to the MBTA
• $184 million to support operations and transit improvements at the state’s 15 Regional Transit Authorities
• $75 million for MBTA capital investments in physical infrastructure

The House of Representatives will now wait for the Senate to complete its version of the FY25 budget proposal before the two documents are reconciled and sent to the Governor for approval.

Article from BCAT TV