Wachusett committee backs statewide advocacy after MARS presentation that warns district is entering hold-harmless status

The Wachusett Regional School Committee voted to authorize its chair to send a letter of advocacy based on recommendations from the Massachusetts Association of Regional Schools (MARS) after a one-hour presentation on how the state's Chapter 70 foundation budget and the 59/41 aid split are affecting regional districts.

Julie Kelly of MARS told the committee the Chapter 70 model, developed in 1992 and updated unevenly since, assumes enrollment sizes and economies of scale that many regional districts no longer meet. "This formula is driven by student enrollment," Kelly said. "The entire state is in declining enrollment. It's not working for 232 districts. We have to change it. It's that simple. It has to happen now." She said Wachusett's calculations place the district in a trajectory toward hold-harmless status and estimated the district's hold-harmless amount for fiscal 2026 at about $2,500,000, up from roughly $1,200,000 in fiscal 2025.

Why it matters: Committee members were told that hold-harmless status preserves prior-year aid but can leave a district with little or no annual increase in state support while town contributions must cover most budget growth. Committee members and MARS presenters said districts in hold-harmless status still must meet net-school-spending requirements that effectively raise the district's reported spending above the foundation budget, complicating comparisons with other districts.

Kelly and other presenters walked through how the foundation budget uses out-of-date equalized property values and income figures (equalized values run two years behind; income figures can be four years behind), and how a municipality's required contribution is calculated before DESE applies foundation aid. That sequence, she said, can push smaller or regionally spread districts into higher required shares even when enrollment declines.

The presentation listed possible near-term and longer-term advocacy steps: (1) asking the legislature to use one-time FY2024 "millionaire surtax" surplus funds for Chapter 70 line items in FY2025 that districts can carry forward; (2) supporting proposed legislation to increase the commonwealth's share of the foundation budget; and (3) creating a commission to revisit the foundation budget assumptions.

MARS and allied groups (MASC, MASS, MTA and others) told the committee they will release a unified advocacy letter and are asking districts in hold-harmless status to testify at the local-aid budget hearing in the House. Sheila (MARS) and Julie asked Wachusett officials and town leaders to share district-specific budget shortfalls and the concrete program or staff cuts that would follow if additional state funds do not arrive.

The committee moved and approved a motion authorizing the chair to compose and send a letter of advocacy on behalf of the district based on the MARS Project (referred to in discussion as Project 211, now Project 232). The motion was seconded and passed by roll-call vote.

Votes at a glance: The committee recorded several formal actions during the meeting. Key outcomes: - Motion to authorize the chair to compose an advocacy letter based on MARS Project 211/232: approved by roll call. - Consent agenda (three items remaining after executive minutes were removed for correction): approved by roll call. - FY25-26 school calendar: approved by roll call. - Adoption of a competency-based graduation policy for the class of 2025 (replacing the MCAS requirement): approved; chair abstained. - Amendment to background-check policy (to add DCF checks and related clarifying language), change treated as a first reading and returned to the committee for a second reading at a later meeting: amendment approved by roll call (will require further procedural steps before becoming policy).

Committee direction and next steps: MARS and local leaders urged committee members to attend and testify at the local-aid budget hearing when scheduled and to share district budget shortfalls with state legislators. MARS said a consolidated advocacy letter would be distributed to all hold-harmless districts and that Wachusett would receive that letter; the committee voted to join that unified advocacy effort.

Supporting quotes and attributions: All quotes below are from speakers recorded in the meeting. - "This formula is driven by student enrollment. The entire state is in declining enrollment. It's not working for 232 districts. We have to change it. It's that simple. It has to happen now," Julie Kelly, Massachusetts Association of Regional Schools. - "Hold harmless aid is essential to help maintain your mandated foundation of central office and school building based staff," Julie Kelly.

Ending: Committee leaders said they expect the MARS advocacy materials to arrive within days and invited school committee members and town officials to a MARS-coordinated meeting for hold-harmless districts. The committee also scheduled the school budget public hearing for March 10 and encouraged residents to provide written or oral testimony about local budget shortfalls and the potential student-impact of cuts.