Officials Say Swampscott Got Short-Changed In State Education Aid

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — While the newly-enacted Student Opportunity Act for calculating state aid for individual school districts has received widespread praise, that praise stops at the Swampscott town line. Elected officials meeting for the town's financial retreat Saturday were critical of the new legislation, saying the formula used to calculate Chapter 70 state aide does not take into account Swampscott's diverse student population. The town is slated to receive $4.66 million in the first year using the new formula, up $64,000 from this year.

According to the Daily Item, which first reported this story, Swampscott and a handful of other Massachusetts communities have school costs that are significantly higher than their net school spending. "We live in a town that has a very high medium income and high property values, but that doesn’t reflect our diverse socioeconomic status and the complexities that come with that," Selectman Chair Peter Spellios said.