Past efforts to repeal the amendment have failed.
EASTHAMPTON -- State Rep. John Scibak says there is no easy way around the "anti-aid amendment" to the Massachusetts Constitution. The 1855 law, amended in 1917, was invoked this month by Easthampton Mayor Karen Cadieux in her controversial decision to cut city taxpayer funding to a local food pantry.
The amendment prohibits public funds or property from being given to charitable, educational, religious, or other private organizations, no matter how worthy, according to the state Department of Revenue. The DOR leaves the door ajar in that it does let cities and towns contract, in writing, with non-profits for services.
Cadiuex surprised the City Council on April 15 with a fiscal 2016 budget that axed local support to the Easthampton Community Center. In fiscal 2015, the city's appropriation to the center stood at $20,000; in fiscal 2014, it was $24,000. The number now stands at zero. The municipality had supported the anti-poverty work of the non-profit organization for years.
Cadieux told the City Council last week she eliminated funding to the Community Center upon the advice of city auditor Valerie Bernier, who "saw no gray area." The mayor at the time insisted that no legal way exists to transfer city money to the non-profit.
Cadieux, faced with a fierce backlash, has since moderated her position, as evidenced by a proposal she put forth at a Finance Committee budget hearing this week. Cadieux made reference to $10,000 in unspent city grant money she had "found," and suggested that the city craft a contract with the Community Center. For instance, she said, the contract could pay the center to provide summer meals to low-income children.
Cadieux has repeatedly said that she supports the work of the Community Center but had no choice but to cut the center's public funding.
Communities that are entitled to Community Development Block Grants aren't in the same bind, Cadieux said, because the federal grants are designated for programs that support low- and moderate-income populations. While Northampton, Springfield, and Holyoke are so-called "entitlement communities," and get CDBG money every year automatically, Easthampton does not qualify because of its demographics, she said.
For instance, neighboring Northampton does not violate the Anti-Aid Amendment when it provides a direct yearly grant to the Northampton Survival Center in the amount of $10,000; that money comes from CDBG funds, said Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz.
Scibak, the Democrat from South Hadley on Wednesday said the that the Department of Revenue does indeed enforce the Anti-Aid Amendment, first adopted in the horse-and-buggy days. The DOR has advised a number of cities and towns across Massachusetts to stop making direct grants to non-profits, he said.
Scibak said that even if the political will existed, repealing the law would not be easy because it would require amending the state constitution. That could be done through an initiative petition or by legislative procedure. He said if the second option were chosen, the repeal would have to be voted on in two consecutive legislative sessions -- for instance, in 2015-16 and again in 2017-18.
So, said Scibak, even if all the stars aligned, the earliest the constitutional amendment could be in effect would be 2017.
Previous efforts to repeal the Anti-Aid Amendment through initiative petition have failed. 1999, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly rejected a petition that sought to undo the amendment. Similar versions of the petition were rejected by Reilly's predecessor, Scott Harshbarger, according to the Boston Globe.
The easier option is for Easthampton to support low-income meal services by contracting with a provider, assuming that the process is consistent with the requirements specified in the Anti-Aid Amendment and Chapter 30B of the Massachusetts General Laws, said Scibak.
Chapter 30B covers public bidding and procurement.
The Massachusetts Anti-Aid Amendment is a legacy of anti-Catholic bias and the "Know-Nothing" movement that preceded the Civil War, according to writer Jamie Gass. The durable law still bans public funding of private and parochial schools.
The Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based think tank which supports free-market principals, advocates for the amendment's repeal, saying it traps poor children in failing public schools by blocking access to voucher or tax-credit scholarship programs that would allow them to attend higher-quality private or parochial schools.
The Institute in 2011 hosted a roundtable discussion entitled "Dumping Massachusetts' Know-Nothing Amendments: Church, State, and School Reform."
Sen. Donald Humason, a Republican from Westfield, said on Tuesday that he's "neutral" about the Anti-Aid Amendment, but that he supports Cadieux's efforts to comply with its provisions. Humason opined that putting a contractual agreement in place between the city and the Easthampton Community Center could help bring accountability to the way local taxpayer dollars are spent on anti-poverty efforts.
Members of the local Finance Committee on Wednesday said they were committed to finding a way to help the Community Center, but weren't sure if a solution could be put in place for fiscal 2016, which starts July 1.
Community Center director Robin Bialecki said Monday the loss of funding will be significant to the organization, which operates on an approximate $157,000 budget, but that she will "work without a salary" if need be to feed hungry children from around the region.
Bialecki, speaking of the center's ten-week summer meal program for low-income children and other food programs, said she does not turn any needy person away. But that policy might have to change. Any contract with the city would likely stipulate that the summer meals be limited to Easthampton residents only, Cadieux told the Finance Committee.
Easthampton's deliberations are not taking place in a vacuum. James Ayres, Executive Director of the United Way of Hampshire County, has asked the city to seek clarification from the office of Atty. General Maura Healy. And a representative from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts told city officials Wednesday that the situation in Easthampton is being watched statewide.
It's not clear whether Cadieux or the City Council will approach Healy's office for guidance. But Finance Committee members said they want to seek an independent legal opinion before moving ahead.
Easthampton, with a population of nearly 16,000, has a median household income of $57,617, compared to the state median of $66,866. Seven percent of Easthampton residents live below the poverty line, compared to 11.4 percent statewide, according to U.S. Census data.
Thirty-seven percent of Easthampton school children qualify for free or reduced lunch, according to the Masssachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Statewide, the average is 38 percent.
"We may not be the poorest community in the state, but that doesn't mean we don't have poor children," said City Councilor Joy Winnie.
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Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com.
