Draft Framingham School Budget Seeks Biggest Increase In A Decade

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The Framingham Public Schools budget is still being shaped, but a draft version that will be presented to the School Committee on Wednesday seeks the biggest year-over-year spending increase in a decade, according to budget documents.

The draft budget seeks $148.5 million for the 2021 fiscal year, which begins in July. That's a 7.28 percent increase — or about $10 million — over the fiscal year 2020 budget of $138.4 million.

You would have to go back to 2015 to find a School Department budget increase above 7 percent. Yearly increases have ranged between 3 and 6 percent each year over the last 10 fiscal years.

The biggest driver of this year's increase, according to budget documents, is cost-of-living salary increases for staff. The district expects about $5 million in salary increases next year, plus another $3.4 million to cover new salaried positions.

But that 7.28 percent increase is far from final.

The School Department budget typically accounts for half of Framingham's total annual budget. In the coming weeks, the School Committee will shape the budget before submitting it to Mayor Yvonne Spicer. She will then submit the entire budget, which includes the School Department, to City Council for approval before the end of June.

The school budget will likely change a lot before final approval. Last year, the School Committee asked for $139 million, but that was dropped to $137.8 million. The final budget passed by City Council was $138.4 million, about a 4 percent increase over 2019.

Another factor this year will be state funding. A law signed in November by Gov. Charlie Baker changed the state's school funding formula — although it looks like Framingham stands to see a sizeable state funding increase.

The draft School Department budget can be read via the School Committee's agenda packet. The School Committee meets at 7 p.m. on Feb. 26 at the Perini building, 73 Mt. Wayte Ave.