Board adopts FY27 budget priorities emphasizing family access, workforce and program stability
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Summary
The Department of Early Education and Care board approved a memo setting FY27 budget priorities focused on family access, workforce compensation and career pathways, and program stability including C3 refinement. The board voted to adopt the recommendations and to submit them to the Secretary of Education.
The Department of Early Education and Care board voted to adopt a FY27 budget priorities memo that centers on improving family access, strengthening workforce supports and ensuring program stability.
Board leaders said the memo builds on the board’s recent retreat and is intended to guide department priorities as staff and the secretary prepare FY27 budget conversations with the governor and legislature. The memo highlights family-portal modernization to simplify eligibility and navigation, workforce investments including compensation and Career Pathways, and refinement (not reinvention) of the Commonwealth Care for Children (C3) grant program to align better with the true cost of care.
Board members discussed and agreed that Career Pathways is a critical workforce item and asked the memo be amended to explicitly call it out; the amendment was accepted.
A motion to approve the FY27 priorities was made and seconded under the authority cited in the motion (general law chapter 15D, section 4). The motion passed; public roll-call details in the transcript included multiple “aye” votes and an abstention recorded for Cheryl Travers on the minutes votes earlier in the meeting.
Staff described this memo as an early-stage tool to inform the secretary’s conversations with the governor and the legislative leadership; they emphasized it is part of an ongoing, multi-year budget development process and that the board’s priorities will be used to inform FY27 planning and advocacy.
