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District leaders warn K‑12 budgets face cuts despite SOA gains; call for rural aid, circuit breaker boosts
Summary
Superintendents, school business officers and school committee members told a Joint Ways and Means hearing that many districts will face teacher layoffs, program cuts and even school closures in FY26 unless the Legislature increases minimum Chapter 70 aid, boosts special education circuit‑breaker funding, and expands rural and transportation reimbursements beyond House 1 levels.
Superintendents, school business officers and local elected school committee members told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means that Massachusetts school districts face a budget squeeze for fiscal 2026 that could trigger layoffs, program eliminations and even school closures unless the legislature increases key K‑12 aid lines beyond House 1.
At a public hearing in Amherst, witnesses said the Student Opportunity Act’s added funding increased the state’s foundation budget but left many municipal budgets unable to keep pace with new obligations created by the formula and rising cost drivers such as special education, transportation and health insurance.
“Districts report significant cost increases in key areas, such as out of district special education tuition, transportation, utilities, and health insurance,” said Dr. Mary Bork, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents. She told members that “school committees nationally are proposing staff layoffs, reduction or elimination of programs and even school closures” to close projected FY26…
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