PreK-12 Schools

Massachusetts School Funding in a Nutshell

The nonpartisan Foundation Budget Review Commission found in 2015 that the state is underfunding our schools by more than $1 billion a year. Too many schools lack adequate staff, enrichment programs, books, technology and supplies. Too many students don’t receive the academic, social and emotional support they need to thrive. It's time legislators update the foundation budget formula and fully fund it for Massachusetts public school students now and in the future.

Mac for FBRC — This is what computers looked like when the state's education formula was instituted.

FOUNDATION BUDGET. In 1993, the Legislature approved a foundation budget formula that determines how much each district must spend to provide all students with an adequate education. Spending requirements vary based on student demographics (e.g., educating low-income students costs more), the distribution of students across grade levels and programs (e.g., English learner, vocational), and local and regional wage levels (e.g., teacher salaries are presumed to be higher in high-wage areas).
REQUIRED LOCAL CONTRIBUTION. The state calculates how much each city and town must contribute toward the foundation budget requirement. Local contributions vary based on property values and income (e.g., low-income communities are required to pay less) as well as growth in local revenues.
CHAPTER 70 AID. The state makes up for the difference between the required local contribution and the foundation budget requirement with Chapter 70 aid. It also provides a guaranteed annual aid increment to each district. (Districts may receive additional money from grant programs and from the federal government, but most state funding comes through Chapter 70.)
SPENDING ABOVE FOUNDATION. Cities and towns are free to spend more than the required minimum on their schools, and many do. Some wealthy districts spend twice as much as required. Most low-income communities cannot afford to spend much more than required. That’s the main reason there are big education spending gaps in Massachusetts.

Invest in the Schools and Colleges Our Communities Deserve

The state’s foundation budget formula, which is used to determine how much state and local governments must spend to educate our students, was created after passage of the 1993 Education Reform Act. A nonpartisan Foundation Budget Review Commission found in 2015 that the formula is now badly out of date. A bill to update the formula made it through the state Senate in the last session but died in the House. As a result, the funding crisis is getting worse. Too many students don’t receive the academic, social and emotional support they need to thrive.

Increases are needed in four areas:

Educating students who have disabilities
Educating students who are English learners
Educating students who are from low-income families
Providing health insurance to staff

Updating the formula requires an additional $1 billion in annual state spending.

Fund Our Future

For a more detailed explanation of school funding, check out this primer by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

Deeper Dive: How the Massachusetts Education Funding System Works

While there has been a growing consensus about the shortcomings of the existing school funding system, progress on fixing it has been elusive. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center offers a blueprint for updating the education funding formula in its July 2018 report, Building an Education System That Works for Everyone: Funding Reforms to Help All Our Children Thrive.

PreK-12 Schools

Massachusetts School Funding in a Nutshell

Invest in the Schools and Colleges Our Communities Deserve

Deeper Dive: How the Massachusetts Education Funding System Works

Demystifying the Chapter 70 Formula

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