FY2015 House Two Fiscal Committee February 3, 2014

Overview: FY15 House 2 On January 22, 2014 Governor Patrick released his FY15 Budget Recommendations (House 2). House 2 recommends an overall budget of $36.37B (or $38.17B after including the annual pension contribution), a 4.88% increase from FY 2014 estimated spending. While crafting a budget that is rooted in fiscal responsibility, the Governor continued his long demonstrated commitment to education. The FY 2015 budget proposes $204.9M in increased education funding designed to make progress in closing achievement gaps and expand education access at all levels, from birth through higher education. Specific to early education, the Governor recommends a FY15 budget for EEC of $531.7M, which is $22.3M more than the FY14 total available funding level of $509.4M. The Governor’s budget provides maintenance or level funding for most accounts but also includes a few notable investments: funds to rebuild staff supports; $15M for Birth through Pre-School access expansion to provide care for roughly 1,700 children; $2M for a K1 Classroom Grant Program; and $2.5M for QRIS IT funding through the EOE/IT line item. 2

Governor’s FY15 Budget Recommendation Summary 3

House Administrative Account Overview: The Governor’s FY15 budget recommendation for the admin account totals $13.7M which is a 5.7% increase from FY14. This recommendation includes: 1. Annualization of all FY14 costs, including the nine (9) new positions hired in FY14; 2. Annualization of the cost for 10 employees related to the fingerprinting bill. These cost are currently supported through an ISA with the Executive Office of Public Safety; 3. Additional funds to increase workforce support for as many as six additional FTEs, prioritizing field operations and fiscal monitoring; 4. Funds to support the CCDF mandated biannual Market Rate Study; and 5. Transfer of HR personnel from into a consolidated appropriation under the Executive Office of Education. 4

Staffing History 5

House Access Management House2 recommends $5,8873,862 which is level funding compared to the FY14 GAA appropriation. In FY14, however, EEC increased the CCR&Rs’ contracts as part of the Waitlist Implementation plan. A small portion ($700K) of the $15M appropriated in the FY account was used to increase the management fee to ensure the CCRRs are staffed appropriately to handle the increased volume for placements, manage backfill, and manage the reassessment process. In the Governor’s FY15 recommendation, the $700K is not annualized in the , but is funded through the newly proposed Birth through Pre-School Expansion account. 6

FY15 House 2: Caseload Accounts 7 The Governor included language in the three main line items – (Supportive), (DTA) and (Income Eligible) to allow for unlimited transferability of funds between the accounts according to an allocation plan filed with the legislature 30-days prior to any such transfer. In FY14, transfers were limited to 3% of total funding.

FY15 Budget: House Supportive Account Funding Recommendation: FY14 Available: $76,991,445 FY15 Maintenance Submitted: $81,241,142 FY 15 House 2: $81,241,142 FY15 Updated Current Forecast: $81,239,021 Details: Based on our current projections, the Governor’s proposed FY15 funding level of $81.2M is equal to our estimated need and covers the cost of our projected FY15 caseload. The Supportive Care FY15 projection includes the annualization of the CNS and SEIU rate increases. Notable Language: Governor removed language stating that “all children eligible for services under this item shall receive those services.” 8

FY15 Budget: House DTA Related Funding Recommendation: FY14 Available: $128,063,499 Current average caseload 16,299 FY15 Maintenance Submitted: $136,549,668 Average Caseload of 16,509 FY 15 House 2: $136,549,668 Average Caseload of 16,509 FY15 Updated Current Forecast: $136,331,695 Updated average caseload of 16,404 Details: Based on our projection for FY15 of $136.3M, the Governor’s proposed FY15 funding level of $136.5M continues to align with our projected expenditures. The DTA FY15 projection includes the annualization of the CNS and SEIU rate increases. 9

FY15 Budget: House Income Eligible Funding Recommendation: FY14 Available: $222,840,742 FY15 Maintenance Submitted: $241,894,678 FY 15 House 2: $241,894,678 FY15 Updated Current Forecast: $248,778,459 Details: The Governor’s proposed FY15 funding level of $241.9M annualizes the cost of service to all the additional vouchers released in FY14 through the Income Eligible account (roughly 1900 vouchers) and the Waitlist Remediation account (roughly 3100 vouchers) as well as the CNS and SEIU rate increases. Based on our current projections, the Governor’s proposed FY15 funding level of $241.9M is roughly $6.9M less than current projected FY15 need. The main cause of the shortfall is due to the timing of waitlist remediation rollout and the full year impact of backfilling attrition. We believe that we will be able to cover the shortfall by managing the timing of backfilling attrition. 10

FY15 Budget: House Birth Through Pre-School Waitlist Remediation The Governor annualized the Waitlist Remediation services provided in FY14 through this account in the Income Eligible account and eliminated funding in The Governor’s FY15 budget recommendation includes $15M for a new Birth through Pre-School Expansion. This initiative aims to start the phased-in provision of universal access to high quality early education programs for all infants, toddlers, and preschool age children on the waitlist for services under account (Income Eligible). Services are to be provided though vouchers within a mixed delivery system that has a key goal of contributing to school readiness and third grade reading proficiency. EEC is required to promote high quality education by linking voucher rates and program requirements to the QRIS system. We believe that no fewer than an additional 1,700 children can be served as a result of funding in this account. 11

FY15 Budget: House 2 New Investments Birth Through Pre-School Expansion: The Governor included $15M for a new Birth through Pre-School Expansion. Please see the caseload discussion for fuller context K1 Classroom Grant Program: The Governor included $2M for a new K1 Classroom grant program available to cities, towns, regional school districts, and educational collaboratives to provide educational opportunities to 4-year olds. Guidelines for the program are to be developed jointly with DESE, including quality standards to ensure school readiness and third grade reading proficiency EEC Contingency Contract Retained Revenue: The Governor included this account which allows EEC to retain up to $200K in Title IVE revenue to streamline payments to PCG for their work on collecting Title IVE funds. This is a cost neutral item QRIS Information Technology: The Governor recommended $2.5M in new funding under the Executive Office of Education for QRIS IT improvements 12

FY15 Budget: House 2 Level Funding or Minimal Variance from FY14 The Governor’s FY15 budget recommendation includes level funding for the following accounts: Head Start Grants Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Services – Services for Infants and Parents Reach Out and Read (ROR) 13

FY15 Budget: House 2 One-time Funding Eliminated The Governor’s FY15 budget recommendation eliminated funding for several FY14 one-time initiatives Innovative Curriculum in Preschool Programs Early Education Provider Quality Enhancements Waitlist Remediation: See full discussion under caseload accounts Caseload Study: The FY14 budget language for this item allows the original $500K to be expended through FY15 so no further appropriation is needed. Salary Rate Reserve 14

FY15 Budget Process Prep Initial maintenance building process for FY15 starts in the summer of GOV Released on January 22, Recommends funding for EEC accounts at $531.7M, including a $15M investment in Birth through Pre-School Expansion. Outside of this and other small investments, the Governor recommended maintenance funding throughout all accounts. House Will be released by HWM in mid April and finalized by the House a couple weeks later. Senate Will be released by SWM in mid May and finalized by the Senate a week later. Conf To reconcile the difference between the House and Senate versions, a Conference committee is established comprising 3 members from each the House and Senate. The report of that committee is typically completed by late June. The House and Senate enact the bill and send it to the Governor for his signature. The Governor has 10 days to review the bill and it becomes law upon the Governor’s signature. Veto & Override Governor may sign the bill with objections to certain items. Everything outside of those vetoed items become law July 1 (retroactive to that date if the Governor signs the bill later). The vetoed items must be overridden by 2/3 of the House and then 2/3 the Senate. FY14 GAA Once vetoes and overrides are done, the FY15 budget is complete. It is now referred to as the General Appropriations Act or GAA. 15