Dukakis Faces Tough Sell For State Education Plan

Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, who is fond of referring to Massachusetts as "the nation's preeminent education state," may find his education agenda a tough sell with fiscal critics this year, State House insiders said yesterday.

Some legislators and staff on the Committee on Education said that although outlays have been relatively safe from budget cuts in the past, this year may be different.

"In this case, [the education budget] is highly unsafe," said Sen. Michael Barrett '70 (D-Cambridge). "I think everything is vulnerable."

Dukakis last month proposed a $1.8 billion spending plan for the state Department of Education, which oversees primary and secondary schooling. The proposed spending increase of 2.3 percent for fiscal year 1990 comes in the midst of the state's ongoing fiscal crisis.

Dukakis' overall spending plan of $13.4 billion has been criticized by legislative leaders, who have asked the governor to submit a smaller budget in light of the state's current $636 million deficit. million deficit.

The Dukakis FY '90 budget is contingent upon legislative approval of a two-year $735 million tax increase requested by the administration. Many legislators have called for further spending cuts rather than a tax hike.

John Howat, aide to Senate Education Committee Chair Salvatore R. Albano (D-Somerville), said that education's relative immunity from budget cuts in the past few years was in part a result of economic prosperity. "In the past five or six years, the Massachusetts economy was thriving. No area of the budget was really cut too much."

Howat also said that part of education's past immunity from cuts can be attributed to popular support. "In terms or what we've heard from constituents, nothing in education should be cut at all. Everybody likes education."

But in the current fiscal crisis, Howat said, popular support may not be enough to protect the education budget. "That support really doesn't mean that those line items are beyond scrutiny."

The proposed Department of Education budget, which is separate from the requested $791 million public higher education budget. calls for:

. A 14 percent increase in the Magnet School program, up to $6 million. "Magnet" schools in Boston and Worcester offer specialized programs of study designed to encourage students fleeing the public education system to enroll in inner city schools. Proponents claim that Magnet schools attract students from throughout a school district and help alleviate racial imbalance.

. A doubling of the funds for adult education services providing training in reading, writing and mathematics.

. $1.1 million in additional funding for the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program, bringing the budget to $14.3 million. METCO, a program designed to combat segregation in education, pays for the transportation of Black Boston youths to suburban schools.

. A 20 percent decrease in grants to local schools for programs for gifted and talented students.

. A savings of $500,000 by discontinuing a program of emergency grants to local schools for students whose primary language is not English.

. A 50 percent decrease in grants to cities and towns for teacher training and professional development.

. A $220,000 cut in administrative costs for the Department of Education.

Although Dukakis insists his spending proposals are appropriate, according to Ed Melikian, spokesperson for the DOE, "It's useless to talk about the numbers of the budget right now because everything is up in the air. Everything will be changed. It serves no purpose to talk about actual figures and spending before the legislature has revised the budget."

Both Barrett and Howat agreed that it was too early to predict which education programs will suffer most from the likely budget revisions.

Barrett said, "The whole budget process is topsy-turvy. You can't tell what's going to happen with particular programs."

"It's really tough now to say that one program is safer than another," Howat said. "It really depends on the entire legislature, the sentiments of 200 people. That we can't predict."

Because of Proposition 2 1/2, a referendum passed in 1980, the property taxes cities and towns can levy have been restricted. As a result, local funds for education have been smaller, and reliance upon aid from Beacon Hill has increased drastically.

Dukakis last month proposed an increase of $120 million in aid to local cities and towns, but tied it to approval of his controversial tax package. House Speaker George Keverian (D-Everett) said yesterday the aid package will most likely not pass the legislature.

Barrett said that local aid funds are of greater concern to state primary and secondary schools than general Department of Education outlays. "The DOE funds are really secondary. If local aid is cut, we're looking at enormous impact on education."

He added that when local aid funds are cut, which seems likely in the current squeeze, "local education will probably take it on the nose. Kids come last in local politics. That's the sad fact."