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BOSTON (State House News Service) — After months of delay, state officials are working to release over $2 million for early education professionals from the fiscal 2024 budget, a Healey administration spokesperson said.
The $2.5 million intended for Early Head Start and Head Start programs should soon be distributed, said Matt Murphy, spokesman for the Executive Office of Administration and Finance.
Other community organizations and service providers told the News Service Thursday that they are still waiting to secure millions of dollars from the state after the Legislature overrode Gov. Maura Healey vetoes in the fall.
Healey's budget teams are working with the Department of Early Education and Care "to release the $2.5 million expansion as soon as possible" for the Head Start State Supplemental Grants program, Murphy told the News Service Thursday afternoon. He could not provide a firm date, though he indicated part of the funding issue could be ironed out in the coming week.
A portion of the money, $1 million, was vetoed by Healey, who said the cut aligned with the "amount projected to be necessary" and that it "sustains significant expansion" to the line item in recent years.
"Agencies, including EEC, developed spending plans in early fall following enactment of the FY24 budget," Murphy said. "After the Legislature voted on overrides in October, impacted agencies reengaged with the spending plan process to make necessary adjustments. That process is underway and expected to conclude in the coming weeks."
The early education workforce grants primarily support teacher and employee wages, said Michelle Haimowitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Head Start Association, which represents 28 grant recipients. Head Start and Early Head Start programs offer child care and services to low-income, vulnerable families, she said.
While more than 60 percent of teachers have bachelor's degrees, their average salary is only about $40,000, Haimowitz said.
"And so the supplemental dollars are extremely important to help raising those salaries and bringing them up to a wage that they deserve, that is commensurate with their qualifications and with their experiences, and that is comparable and equitable with their other teacher peers," she said.
Haimowitz had warned Wednesday, ahead of the administration's update, that the delay was affecting teachers' wage increases and could result in some programs facing budget deficits. With encouraging news Thursday, Haimowitz said she appreciated EEC's work with grant recipients to release the funds "as swiftly as they're able."
The administration in late June, before the budget was finalized, awarded $15 million in supplemental grants to the 28 organizations across the state offering Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Healey had said the investment would "help make our state more affordable and equitable, support the hiring of qualified educators to serve more children, and build healthier communities by meeting the needs of families."
Healey's office said Head Start supports more than 11,000 children each year and employs about 4,000 early childhood professionals.
The Legislature ended up allocating $17.5 million in the budget for Head Start State Supplemental Grants. Murphy said officials are working on releasing the remaining $2.5 million across two funding buckets, $1.5 million from lawmakers' bigger allocation and $1 million from the governor's veto.
But the mysterious budget holds are unresolved for other organizations, according to Kathy Marchi of Samaritans, Inc., Joe Diamond of the Massachusetts Association for Community Action, and Joyce Tavon of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Association. It's unclear whether the delays are fueled by revenue concerns or possible budget cuts.
Beth Ann Strollo, CEO of Quincy Community Action Programs, said her agency is contending with two budget holds and doesn't "understand what the rationale is for withholding those funds."
She's waiting on about $400,000 out of the $7.7 million budget line item for community action agencies, which would support low-income residents who do not qualify for the state's emergency shelter system but need assistance to avoid being evicted or to find more affordable housing. Other programs support food assistance and child care, among other daily needs affected by rising costs, Strollo said.
The agency was also slated to receive another $42,000 in Head Start grant money. Strollo said EEC officials emailed her on Oct. 20, saying they would send her an amended contract once their spending plans were approved. Strollo said she submitted financial information that the state requested, but as of Thursday morning, the agency had yet to receive a contract.
"We're puzzled why A&F keeps talking about the need that each of the executive offices must come up with their annual spending plan," Strollo said. "And this is not something that should take months -- this is standard operating, I imagine it. We're troubled by it."
Written by Alison Kuznitz/SHNS
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