Local schools are funded by one municipality. 50% of the municipalities in Massachusetts use local schools for grades Kindergarten through 12. Local schools are administered by the municipality through an elected or appointed school committee, and are considered a department of the city or town government. In some cities, such as Cambridge and Malden, the city charter specifies that the mayor has a permanent seat on the school committee. The capital city of Boston is subject to a special state law which allows the mayor to appoint a school committee of seven. The final budget control for local schools is held by the municipality (Mayor or Town Meeting, respectively), although the school committee receives an annual lump sum appropriation from the municipality, and "town-side" or "city-side" officials have no control over the allocation of School Department funds within the annual appropriation, which is controlled by the school committee.