Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lowell manager signals $2.72 billion school funding plan; council and superintendent to reconcile details
Summary
City officials presented the administration’s proposed fiscal 2026 contribution to Lowell Public Schools and discussed net school spending, state Chapter 70 assumptions and the potential for supplemental appropriations after the state budget is finalized.
The City Manager told the Lowell City Council the administration plans to release the fiscal 2026 budget next week and previewed a proposed funding level for the Lowell Public Schools that councilors discussed at the meeting.
Assistant officials and the chief financial officer said the administration is using the House and governor’s Chapter 70 education aid numbers for planning and estimated the city’s proposed local contribution at about $271 million for FY2026. Chief Financial Officer Connor Baldwin explained that Chapter 70 assumptions rely on the latest House numbers and that any Senate changes or a conference committee reconciliation at the state level could change the final amount.
Baldwin told the council the city projects it will exceed the state’s net school spending requirement again this year and estimated an excess of about $5 million for FY2025 certification. City officials said if the final state budget increases Chapter 70 aid, the administration would bring a supplemental appropriation to the council so the schools would receive the added funds.
Councilors asked for more detail on the calculations, timing and how capital investments and debt service related to the Lowell High School project interact with net school spending calculations. CFO Baldwin and city staff explained that capital debt service (for e.g., school construction) is outside the statutory debt limit and that some categories of school project costs are not reimbursable through MSBA, producing a larger local share.
Councilors and the manager reiterated that facilities investments are a priority and that the planned facilities consolidation (accepted earlier in the meeting) is intended in part to improve maintenance and reduce future unplanned costs to the schools.
Councilors asked the administration to continue posting detailed supporting documents and to be prepared to bring any required supplemental appropriations to the council once the state’s final Chapter 70 number is settled.
