Aid To Andover Schools To Increase 1% Under Baker Budget Proposal

ANDOVER, MA — Andover Public Schools would receive a 1 percent increase to state aid for next fiscal year, beginning July 1, under Gov. Charlie Baker's proposed budget.

The budget proposal includes full backing of the first year of a milestone school funding law, the Student Opportunity Act, which had been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proposal increases statewide Chapter 70 aid by $197.7 million, or 3.7 percent, and is meant to help local districts with costs associated with low-income students, special education services, English language learners, guidance and psychological services and employee health benefits.

Nearly 80 percent of school districts, including Andover, would only receive a $30 increase per student, or about 1 percent in Andover's case. Andover's state funding would increase from $11.668 million this year to $11.837 million in Fiscal Year 2022.

School officials have already begun budget planning with conservative assumptions about state aid, School Committee Chair Shannon Scully said.

"We knew this would be a difficult budget year due the pandemic and other fluid circumstances, so in setting our preliminary budget for FY22, we had assumed zero increase in Chapter 70," Scully said.

The proposed state aid increase in Baker's budget is smaller than he had planned before the pandemic, when it would have been $303 million. This is due to a statewide public school enrollment drop, which includes Andover — but Andover Public Schools have been hit less hard than many other communities, Scully noted.

"We understand that public school enrollment is down statewide by more than 30,500 students (about 3.3%) since last year," she said. "In Andover, our enrollment dropped 1.95% to 5,628 students on October 1, 2020."

Scully also pointed out that town and district officials will have more time than usual to adjust as the state budget moves its way through the legislature.

"This year, Andover has made the decision to move Annual Town Meeting into June, which is about 6 weeks later than usual," she said. "This will give us even more time to make adjustments to the budget as aid and expense information becomes more solidified."

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.