BOSTON — House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) secured $200,000 in state funding assistance for the North Reading Public Schools as part of a $1.39 billion supplemental spending bill that provides funding for education and transportation-related initiatives.
House Bill 4227, which is funded primarily through surplus revenues generated by the voter-approved Fair Share surtax on incomes over $1 million, was enacted by the Legislature on June 18, and is now on Governor Maura Healey’s desk for her review and signature. The bill reflects a compromise agreement between earlier versions of the bill passed by the House and the Senate.
The local education earmarks include $100,000 for computer device replacement in the North Reading Public Schools, as well as $100,000 for capital improvements to facilitate full-day Kindergarten for the town’s residents. In addition to these funding earmarks, House Bill 4227 also includes language requiring the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to provide services to the town through the RIDE program, which offers transportation to qualifying individuals who have a temporary or permanent disability that prevents them from using more traditional public transit options.
“This supplemental budget funding will help to ensure that North Reading’s students continue to have access to computer devices for in-school and after-school learning, while also supporting the town’s ongoing efforts to make full-day Kindergarten available to families with young children,” said Representative Jones.
“I’m also pleased to see that language was retained in the final bill to extend RIDE services to North Reading so that qualifying residents with limited mobility will be able to secure transportation to and from their doctor’s appointments,” added Jones.
“We have been able to capitalize on this one-time spending bill to bring valuable resources for North Reading students to have access to current computer technology, and full-day kindergarten,” said Senator Tarr. “Additional language in the bill addresses a longstanding and ongoing need for transportation for seniors and others in the town by facilitating the services of ‘The RIDE’ in North Reading by the MBTA. I have been pleased to partner once again with Representative Jones to ensure that we didn’t miss this opportunity to respond to some of the community’s priorities.”
Jones and Tarr noted that the Legislature is constitutionally required to utilize Fair Share revenues strictly for education and transportation purposes. The supplemental spending bill includes $716 million for transportation-related initiatives and $593.5 million for education-related programs.
“I would like to thank Representative Jones and Senator Tarr for their unwavering support for the North Reading Public Schools and for education across the Commonwealth. They are available as thought partners, truly listen when we advocate for the needs of K-12 education, and are visible at school events and ceremonies recognizing our students and staff,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick C. Daly.
“These particular earmarks will help to ensure the continuation of our 1:1 program and the technology needs of our students across the district. They will also help our district continue to take the important steps in making full day Kindergarten accessible for all students in North Reading, which has been a part of our strategic plan and our Student Opportunity Act goal for the past several years,” added Daly.
“These earmarks are in addition to the funding that we received in our operational budget and will allow us to continue some of the programs and provide some opportunities for students that we would not have been able to do given the fiscal constraints we reconciled with this year’s budget gap,” he said.
MBTA a major beneficiary of funding
While a majority of the transportation funding ($535 million) will go to the MBTA, House Bill 4227 also sets aside $103 million in transportation-related funding that will directly assist cities and towns, including $80 million in supplemental local road funding, half of which is directed at small and rural communities. Another $16.4 million is included in the bill to help communities pay for the repair of municipally owned small bridges and culverts, along with $7 million for maintaining unpaved roads.
Jones and Tarr stated the education funding component of the supplemental budget includes $248 million that will be made available to school districts in the form of special education circuit breaker reimbursements. Of this total, $190 million is funded through the surtax and will be used to support Fiscal Year 2026 reimbursement payments for costs incurred in Fiscal Year 2025. The remaining $58 million will be funded through the Student Opportunity Act Investment Fund.
Another $100 million is allocated in the bill for grants to build capacity for additional career technical education school opportunities across the state. Of this total, $35 million will be made available to comprehensive high schools and $15 million set aside for a pilot program for comprehensive high schools to support career and vocational technical annex buildings on their campuses.
Governor Healey has until June 28 to sign House Bill 4227 into law.