Monson (or your town)

The letter below is what I drafted and submitted to Spectrum Gaming for consideration in the report to the Administration on the impacts of a typical abutting community to a potential casino site. Please note the Spectrum Gaming report that clearly articulates that the tax burden on abutting communities is a major spoke in the vehicle for transferring money to state coffers and casino owner/investors. Is this the public policy the Commonwealth supports?

I came into the world in Massachusetts in the 60's, there was idealism, hope and a belief that all Americans and communities in the Commonwealth were connected. Folks are much more jaded now than during that era, yet I continue to hope that citizens will engage and consider the many complex facets of proposing mega-casinos in Massachusetts.

"Casinos change everything"
- Spectrum Gaming representative



Town of Monson
Impacts on Education – 2008

The town of Monson offers PreK-12 public education with separate elementary, middle school and high school buildings/campus. The central offices are housed in a former school building. Monson high school students have the option to apply to attend Pathfinder Regional Technical Vocational High School in Palmer, Massachusetts. The Town of Monson is a member town of the regional vocational high school district, and is assessed an annual cost based on the number of students attending. Public transportation is provided for all students at no additional cost, PreK-grade 6. Student/families are assessed a rider fee of (FY 07) $1.00 per day ($180.00) to use school buses grades 7-12. Monson is a rural residential community encompassing 45 sq. miles with many students living in excess of 5 miles from the centrally located school campuses. Students/families are assessed athletic fees, parking fees (high school) and fees to participate in field trips as well as other school based activities. The school district no longer receives reimbursement for transportation or extraordinary special education (out of district, specialized van) transportation costs from the Commonwealth. There is no public transportation available in the Town of Monson.

Enrollment Indicators - Education Profile - Mass DOE website
Enrollment 1,525

Per pupil expenditures rank significantly below the state average: 2007
District $ 9, 075.00
State $11,868.00

The town supports education funding slightly over Net School Spending (the minimum figure set by the state) and provides additional funding through capital planning and repairs not included in the school budget.

A trend of grave concern to the school district budget is the increase of students opting for out of district placement through school choice and private or home school education which decreases available funds for the Monson School District.

Payments to out of school districts:
2006 = 5.3% of budget
2007 = 6.72% of budget

Potential surge in student enrollment trigger fiscal concerns primarily in the following areas:

Special Education: Including mandated placement out of district, specialized transportation, CNA-medically trained personnel, assistive technology and specialized out of district testing and evaluations.

ELL – specialized language teachers and materials not currently in the budget or staffing and not expected without an influx of new populations.

Transportation – the rural residential community of Monson with 113 miles of roads incurs significant costs to transport students. Additional buses and fuel to service additional routes and students without state assistance is untenable. Over 78 % of the roads are in poor condition (Pioneer Valley Planning Commission study) with additional traffic leading to further deterioration.

School Building Capacity- The Town of Monson invested with the Commonwealth in building an elementary school in 1992, renovating the Jr.-Sr. High School into a Middle School (2002) and the construction of a new High School (2001). The elementary school and middle school populations are near capacity, the high school is over 85% capacity. An influx of students would require reconfiguration of the schools and trigger the possible need for new construction.

Taxation and Revenues - The rural residential community of Monson tax base is residential. Property values for median single households, FY 2007 = $222,099 are significantly below the state average $406,673.

Income per Capita (1999), Monson : State = $22,519 : $25, 952.
Equalized Valuation (2006), Monson : State = $80,464 : $153,979.


The average residential tax bill ($2,825, FY 08) is a fraction of per pupil expenditure. The tax burden for student surge would be on the residential property owner in the Town of Monson.

Fiscal Year 2008 Average Single Family Tax Bill**

Number of Single Family Parcels
2,652
Assessed Value of Single Family
237,009
Average Single Family Tax Bill
2,825

State Average Single Family Tax Bill

Fiscal Year 2005
3,588
Fiscal Year 2006
3,801
http://www.mass.gov/Ador/docs/dls/mdmstuf/aag/aag191.doc

The ability to raise and appropriate additional local revenues is restricted by Proposition 2 ½ and the realistic limitation of the community’s socio-economic status. The Commonwealth does not fully fund mandated Special Education, Special and Regular Education Transportation, mandated ELL instruction and materials. It is unknown if/what the Commonwealth would provide for school building assistance in the future should the Town of Monson require additional schools following recent construction of the middle and high school buildings.

Additional breakdown of local and state per pupil expenditures: The average residential tax bill ($2,825, FY 08) is a fraction of per pupil expenditure ($9,075, FY 07 - most recent available).The revenues needed to meet student surge would be assumed by a combination of state aid and the residential property owner in the Town of Monson. The tax base is rural residential with a low commercial tax base, and additional state aid (Chapter 70) would be needed.Special Education is funded locally until expenditures in excess of $31K per student are expended. At that point, the district is eligible for 75% reimbursement of extraordinary costs through the "Special Education Circuit Breaker" from the state. Projections for FY 09 Local receipts for education (raised from Monson taxpayers) = 5,089,159.State Aid (Ch 70) = 7,708,640 (about 64% of education funding in Monson is from state aid).Total foundation budget = 12,797,798.No County appropriations.FY 09, Local Tax Levy (maximum allowable under proposition 2 1/2) = $9,067,915.Assuming continued 36:64 ratio of local appropriation to state aid funding of education, each non-special education student that enters the Monson school district would inflate the budget by over $9,075 (FY 07 - it is higher for FY 08, but figures have not yet been released by DOE) with 36% needing to be raised locally and 64% from the state.

Incremental student increases require additional transportation funding which is no longer supported by state funds. The actual costs would be determined by the number of additional routes required.It is critical to note that education budgets are fluid and static numbers will only capture a portion of the challenges faced to support growing school districts. English language learners (ELL) may trigger mandated specialized instruction and materials as noted above that are currently not available in the district.

The current spike in mandated special education funding is nearly equivalent to the town’s entire increase in the 2 1/2 percent levy. The outcome of those increased educational costs has meant that the increases in fixed costs; energy, health insurance and pensions had to be absorbed in other areas of the town budget resulting in layoffs. Each spike in school funding negatively impacts other municipal operations because the town is mandated by Net School Spending but ironically, the municipality is not mandated to provide minimum public safety, highway or other services to the residents.


Respectfully submitted,

Kathleen Conley Norbut, M.Ed., LMHC
Local Casino Study Committee, Chairman
Selectman
Monson




June 17, 2008