Senate Budget Earmarks $125K For Lawrence High

The Massachusetts Senate approved a $63.4 billion fiscal 2027 budget on May 21, advancing a spending plan that includes a $125,000 earmark for Lawrence High School. The budget passed unanimously after three days of debate and now heads to conference committee negotiations with the House. The Senate bill is identified as S.4, and the new fiscal year begins July 1. The Lawrence earmark, reported by WWLP, would support a career-pathway partnership with Merrimack Health. ### Where does the Lawrence High funding sit in the broader budget? The Senate’s final budget totals $63.37 billion, according to the Massachusetts Senate and multiple news reports. Senate leaders said the chamber added about $70.5 million during amendment debate before final passage. The House passed its own fiscal 2027 budget in April at roughly the same overall size, though Senate and House leaders have said the two versions differ on spending details and policy riders. (wwlp.com) WBUR reported that the House budget included about $50 million more in spending than the Senate version that cleared the chamber this week. That gap now goes to a conference committee, which will negotiate a single compromise bill for final votes in both chambers. Massachusetts lawmakers have often needed temporary budgets in recent years when a final annual budget was not completed by July 1. (malegislature.gov) ### What is the $125,000 earmark for Lawrence High supposed to do? WWLP reported that the Senate plan earmarks $125,000 for Lawrence High to build a career-pathway partnership with Merrimack Health. The station said the funding could expand workforce training in health careers for Lawrence students as budget talks continue. The available public reporting did not provide additional program detail, such as the specific courses, credentials or student cohort size tied to the earmark. (wbur.org) Lawrence Public Schools identifies Lawrence High as part of the district it operates in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Merrimack Health describes itself as a regional health system centered on Lawrence Hospital and says it serves the Merrimack Valley. That makes the proposed partnership a link between the city’s public high school system and a local healthcare provider. ### What is Merrimack Health? (wwlp.com) Merrimack Health is the name adopted by the regional system built around Lawrence General Hospital and the former Holy Family hospitals in Haverhill and Methuen. Merrimack Health says on its website that it is the Merrimack Valley’s first regional healthcare system. WCVB reported in September 2025 that the rebrand came nearly a year after Lawrence General acquired the two Holy Family hospitals from Steward Health Care’s collapse. (lawrence.k12.ma.us) The healthcare connection matters because the earmark is framed as a career-pathway partnership rather than a general school grant. The reporting available so far points to workforce training in health careers, not building repairs, athletics or general operating aid. ### How does the Senate describe its fiscal 2027 budget? Senate President Karen E. (mhlawrencehospital.org) Spilka said in a May 21 statement that the budget “carefully balances investing in our people with responsible money management.” Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael J. Rodrigues said the plan sought to protect core services while confronting federal uncertainty. The Senate’s May 5 fact sheet said the chamber’s proposal included $7.66 billion in Chapter 70 education funding and $1.376 billion in unrestricted local aid. (wwlp.com) The Senate fact sheet also said the budget did not raise taxes or fees and would bring the state stabilization fund to a projected $8.2 billion by the end of fiscal 2027. Those statewide priorities provide the backdrop for smaller local earmarks such as the Lawrence High item. ### What has to happen before Lawrence High can get the money? A House-Senate conference committee must first decide whether to keep the Lawrence High earmark in the final budget. (malegislature.gov) Both chambers then must vote again on the compromise package before sending it to Governor Maura Healey. After that, Healey would have 10 days to sign the budget, veto or reduce line items, or return proposed changes, according to the Massachusetts Legislature’s budget process page. (malegislature.gov) July 1 is the start of fiscal 2027 in Massachusetts, and the conference committee’s work will determine whether the $125,000 for Lawrence High and Merrimack Health survives into the final spending law. (malegislature.gov)