Natick Schools May Only See 2 Percent Bump In State Aid

NATICK, MA — Natick is on track to receive $10.4 million this fiscal year under the state's new education funding formula, up just 2 percent from this year, according to preliminary estimates released recently by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

But Natick is also projecting a budget imbalance this coming fiscal year. The district is requesting almost $73 million for fiscal year 2021, about $5 million more than the fiscal 2020 budget.

And in 2020, the $67 million dollar budget fell short. Natick had to find about $800,000 to cover some shortfalls. Meanwhile, the town of Natick is staring down future budget shortfalls.

Gov. Charlie Baker signed the Student Opportunity Act in November. The new law increases state aid for public schools in Massachusetts by $1.5 billion over seven years. Aimed at closing the so-called "opportunity gap," the law increases state funding for school districts serving higher proportions of students from low-income families.

The bill also revamped the formula the state uses to determine how much local governments need to contribute to public education spending to qualify for state funding, known as Chapter 70 Aid.

Under the new formula, Natick would need to contribute at least $48.5 million to education in fiscal 2021, up from $47.6 million this fiscal year.

The final state education funding numbers will be finalized when the legislature completes the state budget.

Patch editor Dave Copeland contributed to this report.