Admin Proposes Boost in Local Student Aid

Gov. Maura Healey speaks during a press conference at the State House on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Franklin's  State Senator Becca Rausch, is at the left of the image.

Sam Drysdale | SHNS

Less than a week after signing the
new state budget, Gov. Maura Healey filed a supplemental budget
Wednesday seeking an additional $100 million for public schools this
year.

Her announcement comes
amid a tough budget cycle for schools around the state, which have had
to make cuts to teachers, staff and services. Many communities have been
forced to make difficult decisions between raising their own taxes or
cutting school funding.

"In
this moment, I want our teachers, our educators, our counselors, our
schools, to know they have our support. I want our students and towns to
know that they have our support as well. We don't want to see these
programs, these services, or these positions cut because of these tough
budgets," Healey said during a press conference at the State House,
flanked by education leaders, legislators and local officials.

It also comes as
Healey is campaigning for a second term, asking voters to deliver her
back to the corner office in November. The strain on municipal budgets
has been among the largest challenges this session, and a repeated
campaign theme.

"We
have seen and heard the challenge we face to ensure that
mission-critical programs, services, and resources are sustained and
expanded, so students receive the highest quality education that they
really deserve," Education Secretary Stephen Zrike said, noting the
"significant fiscal pressure."

The
supplemental budget will be funded with "projected" and "unbudgeted"
revenue from the state's 4% surtax on households that bring in over
about $1 million in a year.

The
surtax is estimated to generate $2.7 billion in revenue this fiscal
year, and collections have far exceeded projections in past years. The
revenue source, which is only a few years old, has funded a huge swell
of investments into education, including for universal free school
meals, free community college, child care grants, and backfilling
dollars needed to complete the state's obligations under the Student
Opportunity Act for general K-12 funding.

The
governor is proposing the state distribute the $100 million on an
enrollment basis to schools. Healey said it amounts to an average
increase of $112 per student across all 319 school districts.

The
Massachusetts Teachers Association, the largest teachers union in
Massachusetts, in a release called the supp "significant," but said "it
will still not be enough to fully counterbalance the challenges facing
our communities."

"Spiraling costs
for healthcare and special education and the outdated limitations that
Proposition 2½ place on municipalities are forcing cities and towns to
make decisions that are not in the best interests of students and
families," the union said.

Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove, who is also the president of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, echoed the sentiment.

"As
you and your team know, governor, cities and towns in all corners of
the commonwealth are facing structural budget challenges that are
impossible for us to solve on our own," she said. "These challenges are a
direct result of a big storm: rising costs and a limited ability for
cities and towns to generate revenues."

In
the fiscal year 2027 budget that Healey signed earlier this month, she
and the Legislature revived the Foundation Budget Review Commission,
which will look at the formula that distributes state dollars to
schools.

School
officials, municipal leaders, teachers and students have been calling on
the Legislature and governor to act for years, saying that the formula
no longer works in a world of post-COVID inflation. Lawmakers resisted
acting until this year. They say the time is right now that the six-year
Student Opportunity Act is fully implemented.

Healey
said she looks forward to the funding commission's work but "we can't
wait," and she's proposing the supp now ahead of the start of next
school year. She called on the Legislature to act on it within the
month.

"We know that
cities and towns are having to make some real-time decisions now for the
fall, and I don't want to see us go backwards," she said. "Having
worked very hard to get ourselves atop the national rankings for the
first time in years in education, I don't want to see us go backwards."

Sam Drysdale is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts.