MEDIAN INCOME OPTION

The No. 1 priority for Rep. Atsalis is fighting for a more equitable state education funding formula.

By shortchanging the Cape, the towns have had to dig deeper to pay for education and, as a result, have had to cut back on town services. Parents have had to dig deeper and pay fees for buses, athletics, music and a host of other programs. The schools have seen an erosion of services they provide to children and have been struggling to provide a good educational experience for a solid foundation for our childrens’ futures.

The problem is the state insists on basing the education aid formula on property taxes as the sole measure of a town’s wealth – or ability to pay. Rep. Atsalis has worked for over a year to come up with a formula that gives equal weight to median income and property values. His proposal is called The Median Income Option. It is posted on two sites on the Internet: (www.capeforkids.org and www.larsonreport.com). This proposal would bring $10.1 million extra to Barnstable and $6.1 million extra to Dennis-Yarmouth schools.

The timing of this proposal is particularly crucial because the state has convened two special committees to examine the funding formula. The first committee, which Rep. Atsalis submitted his proposal to, issued its report in December. It cites median income as a factor that needs to be given more weight in the formula.

"I have met with several prominent legislative leaders on Beacon Hill about my proposal, and they were very interested," Rep. Atsalis said. "The fact that the Special Chapter 70 Committee reported that median income should be considered more closely gives me hope that our message is sinking in on Beach Hill. We will not stop until this formula is corrected."