Presentation given at the Mendon-Upton Regional School Committee meeting of 11/7/11

1. School Funding Basics:
State Funding 101
MURSD Regional School Committee
November 7, 2011

2. What is Chapter 70?
 It is the state’s program to provide aid to
public elementary and secondary schools
 It also establishes a minimum spending
requirement for each school district and
minimum requirements for each
municipality’s share of district cost
 One of the hallmarks of Chapter 70 is the
establishment of the Foundation Budget

3. Foundation Budget
 History: Established in FY94, modified in FY07
 Original Intent: “To develop an adequate- but not
excessive- level of funding.” It is a minimum
funding level
 The Foundation Budget formula looks at 11
different funding categories, 13 different enrollment
subpopulations, & geographical location in MA to
develop a per pupil budget
 The amount varies from district to district: $9,729 is
avg for FY12 (high- $11,539 in Boston, low- $7,988 in
Marion)… MURSD’s is $8,584 per pupil

4. Required Local Contribution
 Chapter 70 also provides for a Required
Local Contribution: based upon 2 factors-
 The previous year’s required contribution
 The municipality’s wealth (based upon
aggregate personal income levels and property
valuations)
• DESE has established a target local share of
59% and target aid share of 41%

5. Net School Spending
 Also known as the “Net School Spending
Requirement”
Net School Spending =
Required Net School Spending+ Chapter 70 Aid
Required Local Contribution =
Required Local Contribution + Chapter 70 Aid

6. MURSD: Local Contribution
vs. Ch. 70 Aid
Year Ch. 70 Req. Local Req. Net Actual Net
Funding (%) Cont. (%) Sch. Spend Sch. Spend
FY04 $ 7,820,674 (52.8%) $ 6,993,990 (47.2%) $14,814,664 $16,768,757
FY05 $ 8,768,548 (54.4%) $ 7,359,617 (45.6%) $16,128,165 $18,651,175
FY06 $ 9,708,625 (55.1%) $ 7,917,147 (44.9%) $17,625,772 $20,406,325
FY07 $10,852,173 (56.2%) $ 8,448,890 (43.8%) $19,301,068 $22,181,930
FY08 $11,687,998 (56.6%) $ 8,956,960 (43.4%) $20,644,958 $24,436,132
FY09 $11,227,445 (54.3%) $ 9,449,432 (45.7%) $20,676,877 $23,950,830
FY10 $12,295,995 (54.8%) $10,147,020 (45.2%) $22,443,015 $24,501,200
FY11 $11,793,702 (52.7%) $10,574,513 (47.3%) $22,368,215 $24,428,996
FY12 $11,857,016 (51.8%) $11,066,163 (48.2%) $22,923,179

7. MURSD Budgets & Net School Spending,
FY93- FY11

8. Actual Net School Spending-
MURSD vs. State Avg, FY02-11
120.0% 118.4%
118.0%
115.6% 115.8% 115.8%
116.0% 114.9% 116.2%
113.2%
114.0% 112.9%
114.3% 114.0%
113.0% 113.3%
112.0% 111.3%
110.9%
110.0% 109.4%
MURSD
108.7%
108.0% 107.6%
109.2% 109.2% State Avg
106.0%
104.0%
102.0%