Schools in some of the state’s wealthiest communities, including Wellesley, Lexington, and Dover, would get millions of dollars in casino money while some of the poorest districts, including Boston, Brockton, and Holyoke, would get nothing under a measure that passed the state Senate last week.
Increased school funding is one of several promises lawmakers have made in selling the casino bill to the public as an opportunity to improve quality of life in Massachusetts with a new source of money.
Both the House and Senate versions of the casino legislation would devote 14 percent of all casino taxes to schools. The House bill would distribute that money statewide, based on a formula Massachusetts uses in doling out money to cities and towns.
But a Senate amendment that was overwhelmingly approved last week would put a priority on distributing the casino money to 165 of the state’s 400 school districts that are considered underfunded, based on a plan the state passed five years ago to help suburban districts. Prior to 2006, many of those communities received very little state support for education.
“Even in the Wellesleys and Westons of this world, they will argue that they’re still losing pieces of their state aid that they should have,’’ said Glenn Koocher, executive director the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
Though not all of those 165 districts are wealthy, many are, including Belmont, Concord, and Brookline. Some needy communities such as Revere and middle-class communities such as Framingham would also get money. But many of the high-need urban districts - including Springfield, Fall River, and Lawrence - would get nothing.
Representative Martha M. Walz, a Democrat from Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood and a former Education Committee chairwoman, said the state has more pressing education priorities, including special education and early education and care.
“Giving funding to communities that are not our neediest would not be my priority,’’ she said.
The school funding measure is one of several differences between House and Senate versions of a casino bill that passed each chamber over the last five weeks. The sides are expected to begin hashing out their differences in a closed-door conference committee over the next several weeks.
Other differences include a Senate measure to allow bars and restaurants around Massachusetts to reinstate happy hour in order to compete with casinos that would be allowed to dispense free drinks to attract bettors. The House version also includes a measure that would put the state on a path to considering Internet poker, a piece that is not included in the Senate bill.