“How are we supposed to celebrate the culmination of this really progressive law when it hasn’t really panned out for anybody in the way we thought it would.”
The law guarantees that each district will receive at least $30 more per student each year, but Beacon Hill lawmakers and Governor Maura Healey have repeatedly increased that amount due to escalating school costs. This year’s minimum increase in aid per student is $160, which about 85 percent of districts receive.
It took years of advocacy among teacher unions, families, and district leaders — worried about wealth gaps among districts — to obtain the original overhaul. New Bedford, Brockton, and Worcester threatened to sue the state amid stalled debates.
“It was a long overdue I-O-U,” said New Bedford Superintendent Andrew O’Leary. “Those of us who worked in urban districts for a long time had seen the result of the fiscal inequities. It was constant budget crises and constant compromises.”
Beacon Hill lawmakers included language about closing achievement gaps to ensure prudent spending. Districts are required to file plans with the state detailing how the aid is being used to close these gaps.
The infusion of state aid has been a boon for New Bedford schools, insulating it for now from widespread budget cuts, which have afflicted other city departments in New Bedford.
The city expects to receive $271 million in state education aid this year, a more than 60 percent increase from the 2019-2020 school year. The aid covers about 85 percent of what the state requires New Bedford to spend on education, including charter-school tuition payments.
The aid has allowed New Bedford to expand pre-K, upgrade school buildings, hire a more diverse workforce, and create inclusive learning environments for students with disabilities and English language learners.
The investments have produced some achievement gains, even as the district tries to boost MCAS scores to pre-pandemic levels.
Students who are chronically absent from school — a barometer the state watches closely — dropped to 21 percent last year, after hitting 48 percent during the 2021-2022 school year. More students are taking Advanced Placement exams and passing them.
