How Student Opportunity Act Will Impact Reading Schools

READING, MA — Gov. Charlie Baker's proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year includes full funding of the Student Opportunity Act, but due to Reading going over the foundation budget level, the district will not reap any significant benefits.

The $45.6 billion FY22 budget includes $246.3 million in new funding for the act, which overhauls the formula that determines how much state aid school districts get. The law had already been put on hold once due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also includes an increase of Chapter 70 aid funding by $197.7 million, or 3.7 percent, significantly less than the $303 million in Baker's FY21 budget that never materialized as the pandemic put a strain on state revenues.

This year's proposed number is lower due to lower inflation and a statewide enrollment drop of 3.26 percent, or 37,000 students. A provision in the formula assures districts will not receive less than they did in FY21 plus $30 per pupil.

"From a Chapter 70 perspective, the Student Opportunity Act will not provide any additional increase in funding over the years because we exceed the foundation level," Superintendent John Doherty told Patch. "We will most likely receive similar increases in Chapter 70 funding that we have received in recent years."

The Student Opportunity Act, passed into law in 2019, maps out a path to infusing $1.5 billion into districts over seven years, revamping the formula that determined Chapter 70 funds. It was hailed by lawmakers and education advocates as a needed investment into bridging the inequity gap in school funding.

Funding was scrapped for what would have been its first year due to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, schools were level-funded under the old formula as federal funding backed costs associated with the coronavirus, like personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer and remote learning infrastructure.

But now the formula is working off of numbers that will likely be temporary, as many unenrolled students are expected to return to school once in-person learning resumes.

Reading's foundation enrollment dropped by 140 students this year, and its foundation budget decreased from $42.4 million in FY21 to $42.1 million in FY22. It is poised to receive $10.9 million in Chapter 70 aid under Baker's proposal, up slightly from $10.8 million in the current fiscal year.

The new formula might not make a blip in Reading this year, but Doherty said the district could see some relief in the future "with the circuit breaker reimbursement for special education transportation.