Lewis: 'Fair share' funds used to expand free school meals, free community college and early-college programs

Senator Jason Lewis said Massachusetts is using revenue from the voter-approved 'fair share' amendment (an additional 4% income tax on households earning more than $1 million) to expand education affordability across the spectrum.

Lewis said those funds are placed in a statutory lockbox and have helped provide universal free school meals (breakfast and lunch, and expanded summer meals), make community college tuition-free (the state covers eligible gaps beyond Pell grants), increase financial aid to make four-year public universities more affordable for middle-income families, and scale early-college programs that allow high school students to earn college credits at no cost.

On childcare, Lewis said the state has increased funding to preserve childcare centers that were at risk after the pandemic, expanded slots, and subsidized costs so lower-income families pay little while higher-income families pay a capped amount. He acknowledged childcare remains expensive but described the goal as reaching a system with broad subsidized access similar to K–12 schooling.