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Superintendent presents FY26 school budget; Student Opportunity Act funding used to rebuild staff and facilities
Summary
Superintendent Thomas O'Leary presented the New Bedford Public Schools’ FY26 budget on June 5, saying state Student Opportunity Act funds since FY22 helped expand staff, improve facilities and support curricular investments; the school committee approved a $267,059,472 total budget.
Superintendent Thomas O'Leary opened the school-department presentation at the June 5 budget hearing by reviewing how state aid from the Student Opportunity Act (SOA) has affected New Bedford since FY22. "We are essentially in year 6 of the state’s Student Opportunity Act commitment," O'Leary said, adding that the city has used that funding to add staff, upgrade facilities and expand programs.
O'Leary told the council that approximately $75 million in SOA-related state aid to the district since FY22 broke down into roughly $30 million for normal operational growth (pay and inflation), about $20 million for mandated or non-discretionary costs (special education, health insurance and other increases), and the remainder invested in strategic staffing and building…
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