Mayor Fuller Provides Additional $1.5M To Newton Public Schools

NEWTON, MA — Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced Thursday that she will provide an additional $1.51 million in ARPA funds to Newton Public Schools to offset some of the budget challenges facing the district.

Fuller said the NPS financial team recently let her know of $1.1 million in COVID-19 related projects that had not yet been reimbursed, as well as a number of summer projects involving ventilation and new space for specialized programs.

"My goal since the pandemic began has been to provide the Newton Public Schools with financial support to help teaching and learning in these difficult times,” said Fuller in a community update. "We have been 'all in' on using CARES and ARPA funds to cover their COVID-19 related costs."

"These one-time COVID related expenses are exactly the right use of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and I immediately agreed to provide the funding,” she continued.

The funding will be used "to support students’ academic, social and emotional needs" by reinstating approximately 20 full-time positions, including elementary literacy interventionists and math intervention aides at all elementary schools, two and four teacher teams at the middle schools, and secondary school guidance counselors.

"Our children are our highest priority and these one-time ARPA funds are helping a lot,” said Fuller.

The mayor’s decision comes after twelve Newton City Councilors wrote a letter asking her for more ARPA funding to be allocated to the city's public schools.

The letter was written in agreement with the March 31 resolution of the Newton School Committee which stated that four million dollars worth of budget cuts in the proposed FY2023 budget would have "a serious negative impact on the students of Newton.”