Report Says Schools Are Underfunded

Report Says Schools Are Underfunded
Local officials call for changes to state funding formula

Katie Landeck
News Staff Writer

GARDNER  The state is underfunding public schools to the tune of about $500 million a year, according to a new state report.

For years, school administrators and local government officials have complained about the complex and oftentimes confusing Chapter 70 state education aid formula, saying it doesn’t adequately address their needs. At the same time, costs for mandated services such as special education or health insurance have skyrocketed leaving the districts with gaping holes in their budgets.

“The formula needs updating,” said Mayor Mark Hawke, who is the chairman of the Gardner School Committee. “The foundation budget, a key element of the formula, has not been updated since it was created back in 1994. Each year the foundation budget grows more and more out of date and less accurately reflects current costs and changes in education and state standards.”

To address this, the Legislature started a 21-person Foundation Budget Review Commission last year, to look at the Chapter 70 formula, holding six public hearings. A preliminary report released at the end of June found the school administrators were right.

In fiscal 2014, there was $495 million shortfall between what the state provided and the commission believes was necessary to adequately fund the foundation budget.

“Past underfunding has led to staff layoffs, reduction in class offerings and programs,” said John Columbus, the chairman of the Templeton Board of Selectmen and a former member of the Narragansett School Committee. “The district's member towns have passed overrides on several occasions to increase school funding.”

Chapter 70 is a wealth-based formula, designed to take into account a community’s ability to pay.

However, the commission found it exacerbated the shortfall in lower-income communities.

As such, while the commission said the average district is shortchanged 11.5 percent of what they need, in communities such as Gardner, the real numbers could be higher.

“Less-wealthy communities fall further and further behind while more-affluent communities get further ahead creating a larger and larger divide,” said Mr. Hawke. The quality of education should not be dependent upon your geographic location, he said.

In some communities, the shortfall has caused tensions between the town side of government and the School Department. This was clear in Winchendon two years ago, as the community wrestled with an indirect cost agreement involving shared school/town expenses — in which health care costs play a large role — as well as faced teacher layoffs.

Having the state take the time to acknowledge the issue, however, is a relief to many.

Moving forward, state officials are not sure how they will address the issue. Lawmakers have said it is not feasible to provide the schools with all $500 million right away, but said a phased-in approach could be possible.