Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick says he’d like to spare public schools from the next round of budget cuts.
Governor Patrick says he's working up a plan to close the 325 billion dollar budget gap : “The only thing that I would not like to go near is chapter 70 funding but we’re looking to see if we can get there with everything else on the table.”
Chapter 70 funding is state assistance for public schools. The administration has also said it won’t dip into the state's rainy day fund.
To come up with the money, The governor will need to ask lawmakers for special power to make emergency budget cuts.
The Patrick administration announced the budget shortfall just two days after a competitive race for governor. Patrick’s budget chief has said officials waited until after the election because they wanted to see if voters would repeal the casino law.
