Stoughton Schools Could Cash in with Casino Gambling Bill

An amendment to the state’s expanded gambling bill, co-sponsored by state Senators Brian A. Joyce (D-Milton) and Katherine Clark (D-Melrose), would increase state funding to the by well over a million dollars, Senator Joyce’s office said in a press release.

The expected increase in funding would be $1,659,489, according to the release. Stoughton currently receives about $12.8 million in Chapter 70 local education aid.

The amendment passed the Senate after vigorous debate and must now be reconciled with the House version of the bill, which did not contain such a provision, the release said.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted in favor of a casino gambling bill, passing it 132-32 on Sept. 14. The Senate passed their version of the bill 24-14 Thursday afternoon.

The state uses a formula that measures a number of factors such as income, demographics, and municipal growth to determine what a community should contribute to its local schools, according to the release. Joyce’s amendment assists towns such as Stoughton, where the town’s contribution is disproportionately higher than the state’s.

Molly Boehmke, Joyce’s Chief of Staff, said that the total dollar amount for the amendment is about $112 million and eight out of the ten towns in the Senator’s district would benefit. Joyce’s district includes all or parts of ten towns stretching from Milton to East and West Bridgewater, including Stoughton.

The funding from this amendment would come from gaming revenue funds, she said. Fourteen (14) percent of the gaming revenues are slated to go towards education, and Joyce’s amendment will prioritize these funds to go towards Chapter 70 funding, which is local education aid.

Boehmke said many school districts in the state are underfunded and this amendment “brings funding to level.”

“The Stoughton school district was placed at a disadvantage by a formula adopted in 1992, and it’s high time we fix that inequity,” Senator Joyce said in the release. “The school children and taxpayers of Stoughton deserve no less.”

The FY2007 budget included a number of major reforms to Chapter 70 education funding that Joyce supported and have benefited the town of Stoughton, according to the release.

However, recent financial challenges have delayed further progress over the past three years, which makes Senator Joyce’s amendment passed this week so important to Stoughton, the release stated.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marguerite Rizzi said the increase in state funding would be “very welcome.”

Dr. Rizzi said the Stoughton schools face “big challenges” in having to make up for the loss of $800,000 in stimulus funding. The goal is to still be able to maintain the staff positions funded by the stimulus money, even when the funding expires.

But, even though the State Senate passed the bill, checks won't be cut and sent to the schools the next day.

The amendment will have to survive when the Senate bill is reconciled with the House version.

Then, Governor Deval Patrick would have to sign the bill into law.

Then, casinos will have to start producing revenue, which at first will come from licensing fees, and eventually from gaming itself, once the casinos have opened.

The Boston Globe reports that both the Senate and the House “agree on the major framework of the legislation”— three resort-style destination casinos around the state and one slots-only facility at a racetrack.

“This is not an easy vote for me,” Joyce told the Stoughton Democratic Town Committee in September, but the Milton Democrat voted in favor of the expanded gambling bill Thursday afternoon.

“It’s certainly not the cure for all that ails us,” he said at the Democratic Town Committee meeting, but Joyce noted the plan would create jobs, and potentially keep money residents spend in out-of-state casinos in Massachusetts.

He said the addition of casinos would create 15,000 jobs and an additional 6,500 short-term construction positions. Massachusetts citizens are also spending $1 billion out of state gambling, and Joyce said there is a desire to see the Commonwealth keep some of that billion in house, so to speak. 

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Information from a press release issued by the office of Senator Brian A. Joyce was used in this report.