Mass. school funding overhaul explained to Southbridge panel; district remains majority state-funded

Tracy Novick of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees delivered a presentation Feb. 11 to the Southbridge School Committee explaining Chapter 70 school finance rules and the effects of the Student Opportunity Act implementation on Southbridge Public Schools.

Novick said the Chapter 70 formula is complex and walked members through how the state calculates a district's foundation budget, the local funding requirement and state aid. "It's a complicated formula," she told the committee, noting the foundation budget is built from per‑pupil base amounts plus increments for low‑income students, English learners and special education, and uses an inflation measure tied to state and local government spending.

The presentation covered key recent changes from the Student Opportunity Act (signed in 2019) and prior policy developments dating to the 1993 education reform law. Novick explained that FY26 is year five of a six‑year phased implementation of Student Opportunity Act changes and highlighted four foundation budget reforms the commission recommended: a separate inflation rate for health insurance, a larger in‑district special education assumption, increased per‑pupil dollars for English learners and larger low‑income increments.

Why it matters: Novick said the foundation budget determines the state/local split of funding and affects how much Chapter 78 (state aid) districts receive. She told the committee that Southbridge is a majority state‑funded district, and that statewide the foundation budget is intended to be funded roughly 59% locally and 41% by the state.

Numbers and local effects Novick gave specific figures for Southbridge's FY26 calculations as examples. She cited a district foundation amount of about $43.3 million, noted Bay Path Regional's separate foundation budget of $48.8 million, and said Southbridge's combined effort yield (a standard measure of local capacity) is roughly $12.7 million. Using the state's calculations, she said Southbridge's standard local funding effort translated to a required local contribution of about $11.1 million (22.74% of foundation) for FY26 after application of the municipal revenue growth factor (3.01%). Novick also noted health insurance will use a higher FY26 inflation rate (6.13%) under the current rules.

She described how the state determines which students count as low income (direct certification tied to MassHealth/SNAP and a supplemental process for districts to document eligible students) and explained that in‑district special education is treated as a full‑time‑equivalency assumption (about 4% in FY27 after the Student Opportunity Act change) rather than a headcount.

Q&A and federal funding Novick took questions from committee members about federal programs such as USDA school meals and Title I. Vice Chair Martina Shay asked whether the state would replace federal funding if it were reduced. Novick replied the state "is actually picking up a supplement" for meal programs in some places but said she had not seen plans for Massachusetts to replace major federal funds broadly. She warned that loss of federal funding would be difficult for districts and said the issue is being monitored nationally by school finance associations.

Discussion only; no committee action The presentation was informational. Committee members asked clarifying questions about local calculations, the municipal revenue growth factor and implementation timelines; Novick said she would share her slides with the committee. There was no formal vote or committee action tied to this presentation.

Ending Novick encouraged members to email follow‑up questions and said she would send corrected slides. The committee scheduled additional budget and DESE‑related meetings later in the month.