Senate Budget Earmarks $125K For Lawrence High

The Massachusetts Senate approved a $63.4 billion fiscal 2027 budget on May 21, sending the annual spending bill into closed-door talks with the House before the new fiscal year begins July 1. Senators voted unanimously after three days of debate on more than 1,100 amendments, according to State House reporting. The Senate bill, known as S.4, grew by about $70.5 million during floor deliberations. The spending plan includes a $125,000 earmark for Lawrence High School to build a career pathway partnership with Merrimack Health. ### Where does the Lawrence High earmark fit in the state budget? The $125,000 Lawrence High item is one of many local earmarks folded into the Senate’s broader fiscal 2027 budget package. The user-provided story summary, drawn from WWLP’s report on the Senate vote, identifies the earmark as funding for a career pathway partnership with Merrimack Health. WWLP reported the Senate budget also boosted youth services, parks and public safety while avoiding statewide tax changes. (wwlp.com) The $63.4 billion total places the Lawrence item inside a budget that Senate leaders described as a statewide spending plan rather than a tax package. Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues said during debate that the bill had “absolutely no impact on any state taxation,” according to WWLP’s account of the session. Senate President Karen Spilka called it “a terrific budget and really responsive to the people of Massachusetts and our needs,” the same report said. (wwlp.com) ### What is Merrimack Health? Merrimack Health is the regional health system built around Lawrence General Hospital and the former Holy Family hospitals in Haverhill and Methuen. Merrimack Health says it serves the Merrimack Valley and southern New Hampshire, and WCVB reported in 2024 that the system was created after Lawrence General acquired the two Holy Family hospitals and rebranded the group. (wwlp.com) Lawrence General Hospital, now part of Merrimack Health, has already run youth-facing health-care internship programs in Lawrence. In March 2023, the hospital said it welcomed 24 high school interns through a partnership with Top Notch Scholars and that participating students included Lawrence High students. Hospital President and CEO Deborah J. Wilson said at the time that the hospital had a “proud history of helping young people in our community” gain health-care experience. (mhlawrencehospital.org) ### What would a “career pathway partnership” likely involve? The phrase “career pathway partnership” was not described in detail in the sources reviewed, and the Senate amendment text for the Lawrence item was not readily surfaced in public search results. Based on Merrimack Health’s existing internship work with Lawrence-area students, the funding appears aimed at linking Lawrence High students to health-care exposure, mentoring or work-based learning opportunities. (mhlawrencehospital.org) That is an inference from the hospital’s prior internship program, not a description published in the budget text available here. Lawrence General’s 2023 internship announcement described students rotating through departments including emergency care, maternity and pediatrics while working with hospital mentors. The hospital said the program was designed to cultivate youth interest in health care and expand career experience. ### Why is the budget not final yet? (mhlawrencehospital.org) The House passed its own fiscal 2027 budget in April, and the Senate version now goes to a conference committee because the two chambers approved different plans. WWLP reported the House budget carried about $50 million more in spending and included a different set of policy riders. Under Massachusetts practice, negotiators from both chambers will now produce a single compromise bill for final votes. (mhlawrencehospital.org) The state has often missed the July 1 deadline for a completed annual budget in recent years, according to WWLP, and lawmakers sometimes pass a temporary budget to keep government operating if talks run long. That makes the conference committee the next immediate step for both the statewide budget and the Lawrence High earmark. ### What should Lawrence watch next? (wwlp.com) The conference committee’s final budget draft will determine whether the $125,000 Lawrence High earmark survives unchanged, is revised or is dropped before the bill reaches Governor Maura Healey. The Massachusetts Legislature’s budget pages track Senate bill S.4 and the later final-budget stage, where the governor can approve or veto line items after lawmakers send her a completed bill. (wwlp.com) July 1 is the start of fiscal 2027 in Massachusetts, and any delay beyond that date could require an interim spending bill while House and Senate negotiators continue work on a final agreement. (wwlp.com) (malegislature.gov)