Wachusett superintendent warns federal grant reviews could trim roughly $145,000 as state budget raises Chapter 70 aid

Superintendent Riley told the Wachusett Regional School District Committee that the state'level FY26 budget increases the Chapter 70 per-pupil minimum and boosts circuit-breaker reimbursements, while the federal government has put several education grants under temporary review.

At the July meeting Riley said the Chapter 70 minimum increase (about $150 per pupil) would yield roughly $500,000 of additional formula aid for the district and that circuit-breaker reimbursements for instructional tuition will be 75% and transportation reimbursement will rise from roughly 47% this year toward 75% next year. He cautioned that timing and formula details remain subject to state and federal accounting.

Riley also said the district was notified June 30 that several federal grants were being held pending review. He listed the grants as Title II (about $101,000 for professional learning and educator development), Title III (about $25,000 for English learners), and Title IV (about $18,000'$19,000 for well-rounded learning), putting the total at approximately $145,000. "So a total of all the grant funds that right now are being held and being reviewed by the federal government, it's about a $145,000," he said.

Committee members pressed for how the district will balance returning excess Chapter 70 funds to member towns with possible federal reductions. Riley said the committee previously agreed to consider returning excess Chapter 70 revenue to towns and that a formal motion about town-assessment offsets is expected at the Aug. 11 meeting. He added that preliminary estimates from district finance staff and the circuit-breaker increases make him confident the district can absorb, at a minimum, the potential lost grant funding without immediate staffing reductions.

Members raised broader fiscal concerns: one member asked whether state actions tied to MBTA communities compliance could reduce state funding that affects the regional district; Riley said he did not yet have a direct answer and would seek clarification from state contacts at the upcoming superintendents' conference. Others asked how potential SNAP and Medicaid eligibility changes could affect families and district reimbursements. Riley noted the district now offers universal school lunch, which helps mitigate some hunger-related effects, and said Medicaid reimbursements are a material revenue line (district staff cited "over a million dollars in Medicaid reimbursement every year"), so the committee will monitor state policy and return with more precise fiscal analysis.

Riley said the district will continue to track circuit-breaker details, charter-school reimbursement changes included in the governor's veto package, and federal grant reviews and will report updated numbers and recommended actions to the committee.

The committee did not take a new budget vote at the meeting; members asked for follow-up analyses and directed staff to provide clearer, segmented data on student groups and funding impacts at a future meeting.