"I've tried to make the reductions as fair as I can. And they do not compromise the core missions of state government. I will call on every city and town to tighten their belt. The state will reduce its aid to municipalities by $114 million. That's about 2 cents of every dollar we send them. In some cases, I'll ask citizens who receive free medical care to contribute a share of its costs. Some health services will be pared back. About a month from now, I'll file a budget for next year that will close the $3 billion shortfall without raising taxes and without compromising our core missions. It will let us carry out our core missions without levying unfair tax hikes on our working citizens. If we make these sacrifices together, and if we have the courage to put special interests aside, we can unite as a community for the common good."

--Excerpt from Governor Romney's 'address on the 2003 budget deficit' which was televised live on January 30, 2003.

The real question regarding the Governor's statement is: how does he define core services?

Based on the his cuts and budget proposals, it becomes clear:

• This Governor does not consider our public schools a core service: In July, the state issued a moratorium on all state funding for the construction of new schools. Now public school officials across the state are concerned about how they can build new schools to meet the needs of an expanding student population. Wayland Supt. Gary Burton said that district can wait only a few years before asking local voters to replace the overcrowded high school. "To build a school in Massachusetts, it's more difficult than electing a governor," he said. "It takes three conscious votes by the community to build a school: for feasibility study money, a design study and a vote for construction money." (Source: Boston Globe)
  
  As examples of this overcrowding, classes in Milford are being held in hallways and on the auditorium stage. At Needham High, temperatures fluctuate by 40 degrees each day because of an antiquated heating system. Meanwhile, Governor Romney continues to complain that the state's School Building Assistance program has spiraled out of control.
  
  
• This Governor does not consider prescription drug aid a core service. The Prescription Advantage program was almost killed by the Romney administration, which proposed ending the program on June 30, 2003. According to the governor, the state can no longer afford the program which provides discounts for 80,000 disabled and elderly citizens. Thankfully, the Senate stepped forward with a plan that would restore funding and reduce the cost of co-payments for the poorest seniors. Add to the fact that the Senate budget included a new bulk-purchasing drug program, which they believe will actually save taxpayers about $8 million in the first year.
  
  
• This governor does not consider our district courts a core service: In eight communities across the state, advocates and activists of both parties have been scrambling to save their district courts. In Ipswich, two Republican legislators led the opposition to Governor Romney's plans to shutter that district court. Sen. Bruce Tarr (r) and Rep. Brad Hill (r) met with the chief justice for administration and management, who sided with the legislators' efforts to keep the court open. Hill stated that the loss of the court would be a "huge blow" to the Ipswich economy. Judge Allen Swan, first justice of the district court, concurred, noting that his court provides "a service to the towns that we serve. And we will continue to provide that service as long as the communities want us here and as long as we have funding from the Trial Court and the Legislature."
  
  
• This governor does not believe aid to our record of unemployed workers a core service: While the state suffers through record unemployment and a loss of 160,000 jobs in the past two years, the Romney administration decided it was time to slash the state's unemployment benefits from 30 to 26 weeks. Robert Pozen, the governor's commerce and labor chief, called the move "a very modest change." Robert Haynes, president of the Mass. AFL-CIO, noted that a "recession is not the time to pull back on benefits to laid-off workers."