Boston Public Schools unveils proposed $1.5B budget and priorities

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper presented the next fiscal year budget to the school committee Wednesday, a proposal that prioritizes spending on behalf of students with disabilities and kids learning English in a year when pandemic federal aid is set to expire.

The $1.53 billion proposal reflects a 4.7% increase from last year's budget, due to an $81 million investment from the city of Boston — and previews possible offsets needed to account for the expiration of pandemic funds, such as possible classroom consolidations and mergers.

In a call with reporters earlier Wednesday, Skipper said she feels lucky to have the city investment to work with, because so many of her peers leading other city districts are working with deficits and having to make cuts.

"Where we find ourselves is with a mayor and a city that is willing to continue making education a priority," said Skipper. "So to have $81 million as an investment is incredible."

According to her budget overview, about $30 million of that $81 million infusion will be spent on improving inclusive educational opportunities for students with disabilities and students learning English. Some of that funding is intended to be used at the discretion of individual schools. BPS has also committed to gradually expanding the number of so-called "inclusion schools," which allow students with disabilities to spend most of their school day in the same classrooms as typically developing students.

More than half of the $81 million investment, or $44 million, would go toward covering increased costs in services like transportation, food, facilities maintenance and extended learning time. Skipper cited inflation as a big driver behind the higher costs.

The budget proposal also addresses how BPS plans to account for the loss of federal COVID-19 relief funding. Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding expires in September. According to district documents, about $13 million of BPS expenses will be covered by ESSER funds this fiscal year. That's down from $170 million the year before.

BPS received roughly $400 million in total federal pandemic aid to use between 2021 and 2024. In the current fiscal year, BPS has used ESSER dollars to fund hundreds of full-time positions, curricula, summer school, professional development and instructional coaching, among other things, according to a December presentation.

Skipper said she and school leaders are working hard to continue funding ESSER-supported programs. She said her administration hopes to preserve programs aimed at student mental health, for additional literacy coaches, and to retain staff who train teachers on how to work in an inclusive classroom.

BPS officials will be holding multiple hearings about the proposed budget in February and March. Upcoming meetings will disclose more details relating to impacts at the school level and within BPS's central office. The school committee is scheduled to vote on the final budget on March 27.