WRSD Funding In Depth
WRSD Funding In Depth
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The Data Tells the Story
Every comparative data point we can find shows a substantial state funding disadvantage for our district. Whether it's the Chapter 70 foundation budget, state aid, overall per-pupil spending, or staffing ratios, the Wachusett Regional School District is clearly being asked to do more with less. Consequently, our towns are bearing an unfair burden in support of our schools.
The Foundation Budget Disadvantage
The Foundation Budget Disadvantage
Urban and Vocational Comparison
The State defines the Chapter 70 Foundation Budget as "the minimum amount required for each school district to provide an adequate education". In other words, it's intended to represent a standard measure of the true cost of educating students.
A comparison of foundation budgets shows that the state's calculations, which tend to work well for vocational and urban districts, drastically underestimates the costs of educating Wachusett students.
Central Mass Regionals
The story is similar when Wachusett is compared to other regional districts in our area.
There are 13 Central Massachusetts K-12 Regionals. According to the state, the cost to educate students in our district is not only the lowest of the 13, but substantially below most.
The Resulting Effect on Aid
The Resulting Effect on Aid
Because the Foundation Budget is the basis for all Chapter 70 Aid calculations, WRSD continues to suffer from the systemic flaws in the process.
A number of factors are considered when the state calculates Chapter 70 Aid and its understandable that urban districts would require more support. However, no matter how the aid is calculated, the math for our district is all based on a severely inadequate foundation budget. The obvious and predictable result is inadequate aid.
Once again, a comparison with other regional districts shows the same effect. In this case, WRSD finds itself not quite at the bottom of the list, but also not far from it.
It's important to note that small changes in per-pupil aid would translate to substantial funding increases for our district. For example, an additional $200 per student would equate to an overall increase of more than 1.3 million dollars.
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