Sen. DiDomenico brings $750K to his district in transportation and education supplemental budget now signed into law

Investments from Fair Share surtax will support projects across his district

Special to The Advocate

Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature approved $1.39 billion in new investments in public transportation and public education across the Commonwealth. The supplemental budget is funded by surplus revenue from the Fair Share surtax on incomes over $1 million, and it allocates $716 million for transportation and $593.5 million for education at every level. This supplemental budget is a compromise between the House and Senate versions of the bill, and now it has now been signed into law by the Governor.

DiDomenico’s local earmarks will direct $750,000 to support education and transportation projects across every community in his district. His funding will go towards projects like playground enhancements, athletic and theater programs, creating sensory classrooms, assisting with repairs in our schools, new bleachers in a high school gym, afterschool programming, traffic calming measures on our streets and new signalization to create a safer environment for drivers and pedestrians.

“I am proud to bring these impactful investments home to my communities, and I can’t wait to see how many students and residents will benefit from new and enhanced school programs, public infrastructure, and transit projects,” said Senator DiDomenico. “This influx of revenue was made possible thanks to the fair share amendment, and I am proud to work alongside my colleagues to ensure every dollar is spent improving daily life for commuters, students, and people of all ages across the Commonwealth.”

This supplemental budget makes significant investments in the MBTA, Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs), water transportation, roads, and bridges — with the goal of advancing affordable, safe and reliable transit for all residents. It also provides critical support for public colleges and universities, expands vocational education programs and strengthens services for students with disabilities.

The supplemental budget utilizes estimated revenues generated from the Fair Share ballot initiative approved by voters in November 2022, which established a new surtax of four percent on annual income above $1 million to improve the state’s education and transportation sectors. It also utilizes one-time revenues from the Student Opportunity Act Investment Fund and the Transitional Escrow Fund.

Key transportation investments

MBTA upgrades: $535 million (M) for improvements and infrastructure upgrades across the MBTA system, including:

• $300M to support the MBTA budget reserve
• $175M in workforce and safety funding to implement improvements recommended by the Federal Transit Administration
• $40M for MBTA physical infrastructure upgrades
• $20M for the MBTA’s low-income fare relief program

Aid for cities and towns: $103M for regionally equitable, shovel-ready transportation improvements, including:

• $80M for supplemental Chapter 90 aid to ensure every city and town receives funding to maintain local roads and bridges, including $40M to help support small and rural communities by distributing funds based solely on road mileage
• $16.4M for municipally owned small bridges and culverts
• $7M for the improvement and maintenance of unpaved roads

Regional equity in transportation: $73M for regional transit initiatives, specifically:

• $25M for capital improvements to equipment and facilities at Regional Transit Authorities, which serve and connect all regions of the Commonwealth
• $25M for efforts to improve workforce recruitment and retention at the Regional Transit Authorities
• $13M for public ferry infrastructure improvements
• $10M for on-demand micro-transit shuttles and Last Mile grants fostering an innovative multimodal transit system

World Cup preparations: $5M for transportation improvements associated with the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Key education investments

Special education: $248M for special education costs, including Circuit Breaker reimbursements to local school districts.

Public higher education deferred maintenance: $115M for public higher education infrastructure investments, including $10M for lab modernization capital improvements and upgrades at community colleges, helping ensure community colleges have the needed resources to provide a first-class education to the surge of students signing up after passage of MassEducate, which provides free community college to Massachusetts residents.

Career technical education capital grants: $100M to expand capacity and accommodate additional career technical education school opportunities, including $15M for a pilot program to support career and vocational technical annex buildings on comprehensive high school campuses.

EEC workforce, affordability and quality improvement: $45M for initiatives to support workforce development, affordability and quality improvements in the early education and care sector, including $20M for rate increases to support early education providers.

Literacy growth: $25M for high dosage tutoring to support accelerated literacy growth and success for students in kindergarten through grade 3.

Endowment match: $20M for the endowment incentive match program to leverage public funds to encourage private fundraising by the state’s public higher education institutions to support accessible and affordable education programming, including $10M for a Department of Higher Education (DHE) endowment incentive match and $10M for the University of Massachusetts endowment incentive program.

English Language Learning programs: $10M for educational grants to help speakers of languages other than English to learn English — and subsequently aid in filling in-demand jobs — by reducing the waitlist for services.

Holocaust Museum Boston: $10M to support the museum.

Green School Works: $10M for grants to eligible local school districts for clean energy infrastructure improvements and upgrades.

Regional school transportation: $8.1M to support costs.

Tomorrow’s Teachers Scholarship and loan forgiveness: $2.475M for scholarships and loan forgiveness initiatives to encourage qualified high school and currently enrolled college students to seek teaching in the Massachusetts public school system as a career pathway.