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State legislators brief Northbridge School Committee on Chapter 70 study and supplemental budget gains
Summary
State Representative David Meridian and State Senator Ryan Fatman told the school committee Northbridge will receive higher Chapter 70 aid and related supplemental funds; senators urged local participation in four regional hearings on a study to reassess the Chapter 70 formula and called for district letters and testimony.
State Representative David Meridian and State Senator Ryan Fatman updated the Northbridge School Committee on state budget changes and a planned study of the Chapter 70 school funding formula.
Representative David Meridian said the final Chapter 70 allocation for Northbridge is $16,390,353 and that unrestricted general government aid for August totals $2,627,743. He told the committee the Chapter 70 figure rose by $142,770 from earlier estimates and that an additional $28,590 in unrestricted aid brought roughly $171,000 of unexpected revenue to the town. Meridian also said supplemental budget language included more than $50,000 that "shall be expended to the town of Northridge to offset special education costs for FY25," and that the town secured $25,000 for public safety improvements.
"The Chapter 70 number was up a $142,770 from where we originally started," Representative Meridian said.
Senator Ryan Fatman described a study added to the Senate budget to reassess the Chapter 70 formula and said he cosponsored it. He said the review will include four regional hearings starting this fall and running through June 2026, and that DESE will publish a proposal and solicit additional comments. Fatman noted the per‑pupil minimum aid was raised to $150 in the supplemental budget and framed the study as an effort to address geographic inequities embedded in the current formula.
"There's going to be four regional hearings across the state," Senator Fatman said, and he encouraged the committee and community to attend and to provide written testimony and district letters.
Committee members asked practical questions about hearing dates and how the district can support lawmakers’ advocacy. Both legislators urged evidence‑based district letters and in‑person attendance at hearings; they said aggregated district data and concrete examples carry weight with budget committees.
The legislators also addressed related items, including the veterans' tax abatement and state efforts on programs that replaced federal COVID funding. They advised the committee to coordinate with local partners and share district data ahead of the regional hearings.
The committee accepted the update and asked the district to circulate hearing dates and the study's terms when available.
