What you can do on the Worcester Public Schools budget

By now, if you are the family of a Worcester Public Schools student or a staff member, you will have read the letter sent from Dr. Monárrez earlier this week regarding the FY25 budget and had a bit of a chance for it to sink in. If you haven't read it, I include the letter in full below at the end. 

You may also well have seen headlines from all over the state about school budgets facing real hardships this year.

Let's first note that it is not new information that the Worcester Public Schools are facing a budget gap. As noted in the links in the superintendent's letter (blogged about here), the district has noted the $22M budget gap since the release of the Governor's budget. We knew of the issue with the inflation budget as far back as the fall. 

There is a danger we run into this time of year, of the relative scope of the budget and budget issues being difficult to grasp. This isn't true exclusively of Worcester, but it is as true of Worcester as elsewhere. While, as noted, the gap is 4.4% of the WPS operating budget, that is a significant amount of money. 

This raises two related issues:

The vast majority of what a district budget goes to is people, and that has implications when there is a budget gap.

Here's the current year WPS general fund summary:

FY24 general fund summary pie chart: p. 143 of the FY24 WPS budget

There is no school budget in Massachusetts that doesn't look like this--there is probably no budget in the United States that doesn't look like this--and that's because educating children takes people. People need to be paid, and people need to be provided with health insurance. That's 87% of the budget right there. With out-of-district tuition being another 4.5%, and that being the result of legal obligations, that's 91.6% of the budget already. 

FY24 general fund summary: p. 143 of the FY24 WPS budget

As the other areas are as broken out above, with limited flexibilities in those remaining categories, it is impossible for budgets like this not to hit staffing. 
This is why you're already seeing the headlines you are across both Massachusetts and the country.

No, you aren't going to magically solve this through tiny pieces of the budget like administration or grants.

At this point, I believe that I have been pointing out just how underfunded WPS administration is for the majority of the time I have been blogging. 

Yes, WPS administration is has among the lowest among of district-level administration spending among peer districts in the Commonwealth, which is also well below both the statewide average of $664 per pupil in the state in the same year compared and the "fair and adequate minimum" of the constitutionally mandated foundation budget. 

FY24 WPS budget p.388

And no (and I cannot believe I have to say this, but I will), you cannot find $22M in administration overall, as this is the FY24 administration budget:

Note that the bulk of it--the $11.8M--is principals. 

The evening the preliminary FY25 budget was discussed, there was an extensive discussion by a few members regarding grants, so let's remember that, for FY25, the grants are projected to look like this (right column):

Federal grant summary, FY24 WPS budget p.157; there's another $15.5M in Nutrition

All of which is to say: if there were an easy answer, it would have been found already.

If we can now take that as established, this leaves us then with one question:

What then can we do?

I'd be remiss if I didn't note that many, many towns across Massachusetts this year are raising their local contributions beyond not only required minimum, but above and beyond that. Some are organizing overrides of the statutory 2.5% cap on local increases in property taxes to do so.
Worcester of course historically funds the schools at little above required minimum; the city was below net school spending last year, and it is forecast to be below again this year (by about $1.6M).

The city's required local contribution to schools is going up by $7.2M this year; that's largely as a result of strong municipal revenue growth (5.01%); that's at the same time that the state's funding is going up by $19M. The municipal revenue growth factor is an actual measure of actual growth in the city's revenue, and it's how every town and city's contribution is increased each year.

Given that, should the city be asked for more? 
That's a reasonable question. I can see an argument for it, particularly if we, like others, plan to ask the state for more funding. On the other hand, it is the state that has set the statutory funding requirements; were the city making those, it is difficult to argue that the city isn't doing what is required.
I do think noting that the city at the very least should be funding the schools at the requirement is fair, reasonable, and necessary. 

While the WPS FY25 budget will, in alignment with the city's budget, be based on the Governor's budget proposed in February, the Governor's budget is actually just the start of the deliberation. The House Ways and Means Committee will propose a budget to the House in April; the Senate Ways and Means will propose a budget to the Senate in May; those then will be sorted out in conference committee.

Massachusetts state budget process. We're where the runner is.

We do have time to influence the two chambers in their budget deliberations, but they need to hear from us on it. 

This need not be complicated. As has been noted since November (and as I also noted this week), the inflation rate in the state budget as proposed is much less than anyone's costs are going up, at 1.35%. As I and others have noted several times here and elsewhere, this is not something that anyone foresaw happening. It is, however, something that is happening, and we need to acknowledge and deal with it.

The state's funding for education, chapter 70, is going up by 4%, but it is going up by 4% because of the Student Opportunity Act. It is crucial to remember that the Student Opportunity Act is not there to carry increases in operating costs; it is supposed to be making up for what the state has acknowledged as undercalculated lines in the foundation budget. It is the inflation rate that should be carrying increases in operating costs. The operating cost increases everywhere in Massachusetts are more than 1.35%. 

Letting your legislators know this--that operating a school district requires increases more than this--is both timely and necessary. 

We aren't going to solve this on our own. We're going to need help.

This can be as simple as emailing your senator and your representative and saying "I support an inflation rate that better reflects actual cost increases." You can, if you wish, cite that MASS, MASC, MTA, and AFT-MA have jointly called for the capped inflation of the past two years to be carried into this year and forward up to the statutory cap of 4.5%. You can share what you're concerned about losing. You can share the good work we've seen happening with this administration. 

Do contact them, though. And this is is the time to do it. 

If you need help with any of this, let me know!

____________________________________________

As distributed on March 27, 2025:

Dear Worcester Public Schools Community,

The purpose of this communication is to provide clear, transparent, and concise information related to the next school year budget. In February, we informed the Worcester School Committee of the financial allocations and challenges we will be facing for the 2024-25 school year. WPS is facing a budget gap of $22 million, which is 4.4% of our total operating budget.

How did this budget deficit happen?
The majority of WPS funding comes from the state. The state decides how much money to give a district based on two criteria: how many students we have in the district and an inflation rate. The state is using a lower inflation rate than actual inflation and our student enrollment numbers have not increased. Thus, the state is giving us less than what it would cost to maintain the level of operations we currently have. View a video summary of the FY25 budget allocation, watch the entire presentation, or read the slidedeck.

What is the plan to address the budget deficit? 
The district is using Our Promise to the Future, the five-year strategic plan that was recently developed in collaboration with the community, to guide our decision-making process. The priority areas include equitable resources and educational programs, and modernized and safe facilities.

We have begun a deep examination of the budget and potential adjustments, but to date no decisions have been finalized. It is a reality that employee salaries and benefits are 85% of our budget. We anticipate some reductions in staffing, both at the central administration and school levels. To date, the administration has identified nearly 10% of potential reductions from the central office, not including other system-wide costs. Every effort is being made to ensure that all students have access to high quality learning experiences while maintaining the future-ready work we have started.

How is WPS bringing a variety of perspectives to the decision making?
As the district faces a significant budget shortfall, it is imperative that we include the voices of students, parents and caregivers, teachers, and community members in this process. Since February, the administrative team has met with the Worcester Equity Roundtable, school principals, and advisory committees of students, teachers, and caregivers.

Feedback from everyone is critical in this process. Importantly, the administration will follow five guiding principles when it comes to budget decisions: 1) Adhere to collective bargaining agreements as well as state and federal laws; 2) Engage in transparent, data-driven practices that promote WPS success; 3) Ensure quality academic excellence through continuous improvement; 4) Embrace a culture of equity and engagement that allows for variability; and 5) Commitment to safe, secure, and welcoming schools.

WPS will present a proposed budget to the Worcester School Committee in May, followed by several public hearings before a final approval and adoption at the end of June. View the budget development schedule.

As your Superintendent, I will stay committed to working collaboratively with the community, staff and our School Committee to provide an exceptional educational experience. We will use this budgetary challenge as an opportunity to streamline efficiency while remaining steadfastly dedicated to our WPS Promise. It is my intention to provide an additional update by mid May.

Respectfully,
Rachel H. Monarrez, PhD
Superintendent of Schools