BPS floats $1.4B budget
The proposed $1.4 billion BPS budget is drawing questions about a slew of new spending and programs, the impending end of federal help and longstanding district issues.
“This budget is hyper-focused on supporting stronger student outcomes,” said Superintendent Mary Skipper. “As we take on longneeded and critical changes in literacy, inclusive, multilingual and secondary education, we’re determined to deliver on our promise of educational equity and excellence.”
The budget is a preliminary draft from the district and will undergo three more review meetings before coming up for a final approval vote by the School Committee on March 22.
The proposed budget increases spending by $65 million and as enrollment has dropped by approximately 5,000 students, represents a 39% increase in per-student spending since 2019.
BPS Chief Financial Officer Nate Kuder cited two major themes of the budget: “closing opportunity and achievement gaps for our most marginalized students” and “community and family engagement.”
Additionally, Kuder said, the changes to the budget break down into strategic investments, increased costs and long-term sustainability. The strategic investment portion includes program costs geared towards equity and inclusion, the largest being $9.6 million increase for inclusive supports for students with disabilities, $6.3 million for multilingual education and $3.6 million for literacy programs.
Increased costs reflect several new collective bargaining agreements, in addition to inflation and expansion. The district may add $28.7 million for salaries — while $16.8 million will be transferred to federal ESSER funds — $18.9 million for facility maintenance and $12.3 million for the troubled transportation system.
The long-term sustainability changes also reflect shifts in federal pandemicera ESSER funds, which run out in Sept. 2024. Now $15 million in services will be transferred from ESSER to the general funds, while $24.5 million in “hold harmless” programs — meant to mitigate negative effects during the pandemic — will shift to ESSER.
Questioned about the impending end of ESSER funds, Skipper noted there will be difficult “decision points” in next year’s budget as the funding mechanism changes.
In her remarks, Skipper noted that universal pre-K is not included in this budget but information on the “commitment” will come later.
District staff emphasized that the budget priorities were determined through a heft community engagement process.
“Budgets are much more than just numbers,” said Skipper. “Our budget represents our values and our priorities as an organization.”
The next budget meeting will be held on Feb. 16 at 5 p.m. with a Zoom link available on the Boston School Committee site.