Framingham Schools May Get 14 Percent Bump In State Aid

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham is on track to received $58 million this fiscal year under the state's new education funding formula, up just 14 percent from this year, according to preliminary estimates released recently by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Gov. Charlie Baker signed the Student Opportunity Act in November. The new law increases state aid for public schools in Massachusetts by $1.5 billion over seven years. Aimed at closing the so-called "opportunity gap," the law increases state funding for school districts serving higher proportions of students from low-income families.

The bill also revamped the formula the state uses to determine how much local governments need to contribute to public education spending to qualify for state funding, known as Chapter 70 Aid.

Under the new formula, Framingham will also need to spend a higher minimum amount on education to qualify for Chapter 70 aid. The district will have to spend at least $64.9 million in fiscal 2021, up from the minimum $63.2 this fiscal year.

Framingham is just beginning public discussions about the fiscal year 2021 school budget. The School Committee Finance Subcommittee met on Feb. 4, but the main School Committee has not started budget hearings yet.

The final state education funding numbers will be finalized when the legislature completes the state budget.

Patch editor Dave Copeland contributed to this report.