Education spending by district
See the state education aid outlined by district in the governor's budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year.
See the state education aid outlined by district in the governor's budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year.
The Student Opportunity Act, signed into law on Nov. 26, provides a major infusion of new funding to Massachusetts public schools. Backed by the Fund Our Future Coalition, the act is by far the most significant update of the state education funding system since the Massachusetts Education Reform Act was enacted in 1993. The primary beneficiaries will be low-income students, students of color and English learners who have been left behind by the outdated system.
The new law, Chapter 132 of the Acts of 2019, updates the foundation budget. A unique foundation budget is created for each district specifying the minimum level of education spending required to adequately educate the district’s students. The costs are shared between municipalities and the state. First, the state calculates how much a municipality must contribute, largely based on local income and property tax wealth. Next, the state determines the difference between the “required local contribution” and the foundation budget. State Chapter 70 aid is then allocated to make up that difference.
Under the Student Opportunity Act, a relatively small number of districts will have to spend more on their local schools than they otherwise would have, but the majority will not because they already contribute more than mandated. Most of the new money under the act will come from the state. Projections show that new Chapter 70 allocations will exceed $2 billion a year by 2027 in actual dollars — or about $1.4 billion over what the aid would have been without the SOA.
Download a fact sheet about the Student Opportunity Act.
The act addresses the real costs of:
The SOA adds another estimated $100 million annually by:
The SOA also sets a three-year schedule to fully fund the charter school reimbursement line item, though it does not address the long-term impact of charter schools. Additionally, it lifts the annual cap on Massachusetts School Building Authority spending by $200 million — from $600 million to $800 million.
The SOA requires superintendents, in consultation with their school committees, to create three-year improvement plans that specify how the new funding will be spent. It states that the superintendent “shall consider input and recommendations from parents and other relevant community stakeholders, including but not limited to special education and English learner parent advisory councils, school improvement councils and educators in the school district.” The first plans must be submitted to the state by April 1, 2020.
Learn more about our bill to increase funding for public higher education.
It is very important that educators and parents participate in the development of the district improvement plans to make sure the money is allocated to the services that they know students need. Plans that have an impact on unionized employees’ wages, hours and working conditions are subject to bargaining.