NEPM: "Massachusetts schools need more funds, some point to flaw in education finance law"

Why are so many school districts faced with funding issues this year? 

There is a common thread and it points to a flaw within the Student Opportunity Act (SOA) funding model. Yes, the model that was redesigned in 2019 to add more funding to the schools in need but some have identified a technical issue in the formula as summarized in this article:

"Fix the funding flaw

A not common alliance is calling on education officials to fix a calculation in Chapter 70. That group, Novick’s MASCA, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts created a FAQ to explain how inflation of the last two years, between 7% and 8 % is a factor.

"... the [Chapter 70] law caps the annual inflation adjustment of the foundation budget at 4.5 percent," the FAQ said. "As a result, districts did not receive funds to cover a significant portion of inflation that they had to pay for in expenses.”

The way the Chapter 70 formula originally worked, the FAQ said, “that would not be a long-term problem because the lost inflation would automatically be added back into the foundation budget in the following year. But a technical change made almost a decade after the law was passed inadvertently changed that. Now when the cap reduces aid below the level needed to keep pace with inflation, that reduction is locked in forever and reduces future aid.”

Continue reading the New England Public Media article online -> https://www.nepm.org/regional-news/2024-04-25/massachusetts-schools-need-more-funds-some-point-to-flaw-in-education-finance-law

Thanks to Mass Municipal Association for the pointer to the article ->

https://twitter.com/massmunicipal/status/1783926637169442860

NEPM: "Massachusetts schools need more funds, some point to flaw in education finance law"