Numbers To Know In Cambridge Public Schools' Budget

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Cambridge Public Schools’ budget hearing is tomorrow. Before you go, get to know the details of the proposal and where the district plans to allocate its money.

“In planning for the FY 2022 budget, we used the following assumptions: CPS will return full-time to in- person schooling for all students this fall, although there may be a limited remote option for some students; there will be COVID-19 associated costs for on-going infection control management; and we must be prepared to respond to changes in public health conditions,” Superintendent Kenneth Salim said in a letter.

“As we craft our plan for the upcoming school year, we are in a unique position of having both a robust operating (general fund) budget and significant federal funds for pandemic recovery."

Numbers to know:

$223,718,190: the proposed budget for this year. That’s a $10,003,460 increase from last year, or 4.7 percent.

$198,419,010: proposed property taxes for this year. That’s an increase of 5.3 percent from the 2020-21 school year.

82: The percent of the budget spent on salaries and benefits

$1,790,408: Amount of money proposed for Recover & Thrive: Individualized Tiered Support for Students. The initiative aims to bring in teams of psychologists, social workers, special educators, literacy and math interventionists, and paraprofessionals to provide more support to students.

$373,785: Proposed funding for added support in the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging—specifically for an Equity Curriculum and Training Specialist, administrative support, Caregiver University, and increasing the hours of family liaisons.

$120,000: Amount proposed to enroll 12 students in the Early College Program, which will work in partnership with a university.

$327,803: Proposed allocation to increasing access to instructional software and an administrator to oversee the use of Google G Suite for Educators and Chromebook distribution to students.

$207,000: This funding would add two people to the communications team: a junior designer for creating student and family communication, and a communications and project assistant for community engagement, as well as internal and external communications.

To see the full budget proposal, visit here.

To attend the budget hearing, find the notice and link here.