Last week several questions came up surrounding Chapter 70 aid to local school districts.
While in past weeks we have tackled,and , this week we are switching gears and talking about Chapter 70 Aid.
According to the Department of Education, in Massachusetts, the definition of an adequate spending level for a school district is called its "foundation budget." It is a statistical measure that was developed by a group of superintendents and an economist in the early 1990's.
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"The goal of the Chapter 70 formula is to ensure that every district has sufficient resources to meet its foundation budget spending level, through an equitable combination of local property taxes and state aid," according to the DOE.
Each district's foundation budget is updated each year to reflect inflation and changes in enrollment.
Find out what's happening in Danversfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The FY12 statewide average is $9,729 per pupil, but the range for academic districts is from $7,988 in Marion to $11,539 in Boston. Vocational districts, whose programs are more expensive, range from $13,959 to $16,975.
Locally, Lynn has the highest cost per pupil at $8,380 while the lowest is in Danvers at $1,154.
Community
FY '12 Ch. 70 Foundation Enrollment FY '12 Ch. 70 Aid FY '12 Per Child Beverly 4,236 $6,730,266 $1,589 Boxford 771 $1,534,312 $1,990 Danvers 3,698 $4,269,013 $1,154 Georgetown 1,571 $5,095,019 $3,243 Hamilton-Wenham 1,822 $3,252,691 $1,785 Ipswich 1,941 $2,559,500 $1,319 Lynnfield 2,231 $3,799,686 $1,703 Lynn 14,106 $118,211,280 $8,380Manchester-Essex
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