Auditor Says State Must Cover Homeless Education Costs
BOSTON (AP) — State Auditor Suzanne Bump has determined that more of the cost of educating homeless children must be covered by the state.
Massachusetts has required that communities where homeless children are placed under the state's emergency shelter program should share the cost of school transportation with the communities where the children originally lived.
Another mandate required the communities of origin to pay for educating homeless children who no longer lived in the community.
WBZ-TV's Ken MacLeod reports
Bump said Thursday that both requirements were unfunded mandates.
Bump said the state should pick up the costs of both requirements — more than $6 million a year.
Bump noted that some communities like Danvers host a disproportionate share of homeless children because many of the motels used by the state for homeless families are located there.
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