Next Framingham Schools Budget May Not Be At 'Ideal Levels'

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham Public Schools (FPS) leaders this week will begin the public process of forming the fiscal year 2022 budget, and officials are warning of a more complex — and potentially disappointing — process due to a range of factors rooted in the coronavirus pandemic.

At the top of the list, Framingham is bracing for a big cut in state aid, called Chapter 70. At the beginning of this school year, Framingham tracked a 346 percent decrease in enrollment in October due to the pandemic. The state uses October enrollment figures to calculate the next school year's Chapter 70 allotment.

Based on current projections, Finance Director Lincoln Lynch said Framingham may only see a $280,000 Chapter 70 increase for the 2021-22 school year. The increase for the 2020-21 year was close to $5.8 million.

"The message from me from the beginning of the budget process back in December was to please keep in mind that the revenues that fund the school budget and all other city budgets may not be at ideal levels for the 2021-2022 fiscal year," Lynch said in a news release Tuesday.

The district is hoping state officials will use October 2019 enrollment figures when calculating Chapter 70 rather than the lower October 2020 figures, Lynch said.

Read: Framingham School Enrollment Drops, A Potential Budget Problem

FPS leaders are also projecting a return to regular or higher enrollment levels at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.

On top of state aid, Framingham's school budget has been cut at the local level. The Framingham City Council is on the verge of approving a plan to cure a deficit in the water and sewer fund that includes a $411,000 contribution from FPS.

Last spring, Mayor Yvonne Spicer requested $142.3 million for FPS, but that was reduced to $140.9 million when City Council approved the budget in June. The district had initially asked for $147 million, although that was before the pandemic took hold.

The budget process will begin Thursday when the School Committee Finance Subcommittee meets. Between Thursday and late March, the school committee will shape the budget ahead of a March 31 deadline to submit the funding request to Spicer.

Superintendent Robert Tremblay said in a news release FPS has a multi-year plan to fund local education, and is preparing for summer education programs to get students back on track. President Joe Biden has suggested summer school as a way to make up for any losses during the pandemic.

"The FY22 budget is among the more complex school budgets that we have built in recent years,” Tremblay said. "Apart from the innumerable and tragic impacts of COVID-19, school department fiscal planning and spending in FY21 was turned upside down. Looking ahead to FY22 and beyond, our focus is sharply centered on reintegration of our students and staff back into school buildings and addressing a wide range of student academic and mental health needs, all of which are symptomatic of a global pandemic."