WRSD Funding In Depth
WRSD Funding In Depth
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A Struggle for State Support
The Wachusett Regional School District, despite consistent support from member towns, has operated for many years with less than adequate funding. The core of this financial disadvantage lies in state funding calculations that have not provided the support our district needs and deserves.
The Chapter 70 Problem
The Chapter 70 Problem
The State’s Chapter 70 funding formula, which determines each school district’s amount of state aid, is seriously flawed and disproportionately burdens our towns. This formula, which is based on a model school budget from 1992, works well for urban and vocational districts but fails to accurately capture the cost to educate students in our district.
For example, based on Chapter 70 calculations for FY27, the State estimates that it costs 60% more to educate students in the local vocational schools than it does to educate Wachusett students. While vocational schools clearly have unique expenses, the foundation budget deficit created by the Chapter 70 formula for our district is extreme. A lower foundation budget directly translates to lower levels of Chapter 70 aid.
Please note that this is not intended to be a criticism of the funding that vocational schools receive. The real problem is the lack of adequate funding for our district.
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.
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.
The "Hold Harmless" Impact
The "Hold Harmless" Impact
WRSD Chapter 70 Increases by Year
For the third straight year, WRSD is in "Hold Harmless" status for FY27 due to an enrollment decline of less than 2%. Hold Harmless districts are only allowed to receive a Chapter 70 increase of $75 per student (based on the Governor's budget proposal). This is a substantially lower level of aid than would be typical for school districts that do not see a decline in enrollment.
The Hold Harmless provision, which was created to protect school districts from losing funding, is no longer working as intended. This year, 272 Massachusetts school districts, or 85.27% of all MA districts, are in Hold Harmless status.
Additional Enrollment Information
Additional Enrollment Information
Declining school enrollment is not unique to our district. In fact, NESDEC projects a 7.2% statewide decline in PreK-12 enrollment by 2031. These projections also indicate a 7.5% enrollment decrease across New England and a 5.5% decline nationwide. NESDEC projects WRSD enrollment to remain flat during the same time period, if not increase slightly.
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