By Isabella Oland
Boston University News Service
Gov. Maura Healey’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal of $63.36 billion calls for cutting the minimum per-pupil aid increase in half from the current year, reflecting declining enrollments and changes in federal aid. But Senate President Karen Spilka said MetroWest communities have seen significant increases in school funding already, thanks to the Student Opportunity Act.
“In MetroWest alone, some communities have seen their state aid nearly double in the time since its passage (in 2019),” Spilka, D-Ashland, said in a statement given to the Daily News.
Spilka helped spearhead the law through the Legislature more than six years ago. The measure increased Chapter 70 aid and other funding that year by $1.5 billion over inflation for Massachusetts K-12 public education. Now entering its final year, the bill has provided an estimated $2.3 billion to local school districts.
Healey told the Joint Ways and Means Committee in early February that her budget would allocate $7.6 billion in Chapter 70 aid and guarantee a minimum per-pupil aid of $75 for all local school districts. The current year allocates $7.36 billion for Chapter 70 aid, with a minimum allocation of $150 per pupil, a historic high.
State leaders plan to revise the Student Opportunity Act during fiscal 2027, the governor said. Its current focus has been to provide funding to districts with high concentrations of low-income students, while also directing investments to support special education programs.
“The Student Opportunity Act was also structured to ensure that every child in the Commonwealth has the opportunity to receive a quality education, regardless of background or ZIP code,” Spilka said, adding that in MetroWest municipalities the funding has gone to teachers’ salaries as well as modernizing facilities.
“In our enrollment in specific student groups, the Student Opportunity Act has certainly helped us funding wise, to support students and staff,” added Lincoln Lynch IV, executive director of finance and operations for Framingham Public Schools.
Legislator didn’t feel state was giving her town enough aid
Spilka said she spearheaded the legislation based on her personal experience with how funding was distributed to her children’s schools in Ashland, saying she felt the state education budget was not giving her hometown the funding it “deserved,” due to “the way the state formula was structured.”
This year’s 50% reduction comes as more municipalities are seeing declines in enrollment, pushing additional districts into minimum-aid status. External factors, such as federal funding cuts, have also influenced the amount of state-allocated student aid.
In response to a question from House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, D-Boston, about the future of the Student Opportunity Act, Healey acknowledged that “as a general matter, we recognize that cities and towns across the state are really struggling with their own budgets right now.”
But Massachusetts is also feeling strained by federal cuts to the state’s Health and Human Services budget, particularly a $2 billion cut from MassHealth, according to Massachusetts Municipal Association.
In the face of those constraints, lawmakers last month agreed to take a fresh look at how the state and municipalities divide education costs.
Despite those pressures, Spilka said the Senate “remains committed to working alongside educators and communities to find solutions that help deliver a world-class education for every Massachusetts student.”
This article originally appeared in the MetroWest Daily News.
