Framingham Teachers Association Demonstrates Ahead Of Budget Vote

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Concerns are growing among Framingham educators about what the next school year could bring.

Ahead of a Tuesday City Council meeting and Wednesday School Committee meeting, members of the Framingham Teachers Association are voicing their displeasure regarding the Fiscal Year 2025 budget.

A Tuesday demonstration outside of City Hall was organized as FTA members fear that the school budget is $6 million short, stoking fears that cuts could be coming to the public school system.

Specifically, the FTA has called on Mayor Charlie Sisitsky and the City Council to raise the property tax levy to make up for the funding gap they see in the 2025 budget.

"The mayor’s proposed budget will be devastating to students, their families and the community. Our schools are already understaffed and straining to meet the needs of all students," the union said, in a statement.

They continued:

"Framingham can easily raise revenue by adjusting the property tax rate, which is currently below the city’s allowable levy limit. Failing to raise that revenue should not be seen as prudent budgeting. Instead, it represents a failure to properly fund our schools and invest in the future of our community and Commonwealth. The perceived short-term savings will lead to long-term harm for our students and families."

The proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budget would be roughly $9.5 million greater than that of the 2024 budget, with salaries for the district increasing by $3.9 million and expenses increasing by $5.6 million.

A recent post by a Patch community contributor and former Framingham School Committee member Geoff Epstein pointed out that the salary increases are based on a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment.

Epstein said the increases "severely underestates the impact of inflation on staff compensation over the last several years" while noting that union contracts are currently in negotiations, meaning it's unclear if that figure would be accepted by the union.

The City Council meeting for Tuesday doesn't have an agenda item related to the school budget, but the Wednesday School Committee meeting is set to vote on a 2025 budget request to the mayor.

That meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Memorial Building, 150 Concord St. It can also be viewed on the Framingham Government Channel, or online here.