In the first year with no federal COVID-era funding, Boston Public Schools officials are proposing a moderate budget increase of 3.5% to about $1.58 billion, with saving from school closures and mergers and new investments in inclusion, bilingual education, staffing and more.
“This year, working with the mayor and her team, we were able to put together a budget that continues our commitment to our core priorities while bringing annual growth back down to a more typical level of 3.5%,” said Superintendent Mary Skipper at the Wednesday night school committee meeting.
“This is only possible because of strong fiscal stewardship over the last few years, putting us in a position today to navigate the end of ESSER without any major disruptions and without losing focus on what’s really working for our students,” Skipper said.
The fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, which must gain both School Committee and City Council approval, increases the budget by $53 million from FY 2025. Within the FY 2025 budget, the city made a big jump in investment to compensate for the drop in federal funding, while still cutting down on staffing and classes.
Of the 3.5% increase, about $31 million will go to maintaining inflated services and $22 million is left for new investments, BPS Chief Financial Officer David Bloom said Wednesday. However, the district also saved $21 million largely from the first round of school closures and mergers, Bloom said, bringing investments to $43 million.
The largest investment, $10 million, will go to inclusive education services, with another $4 million for bilingual education, reflecting the Inclusive Education Plan overhaul announced in 2023.
“We know that right now, not every student has access to that high-quality experience, and historically, that’s particularly been true for students with disabilities and multilingual learners, particularly coming out of COVID where that level of need has only grown,” Bloom said, stating the budget investments are “laser-focused on closing opportunity and achievement gaps” and ensuring high-quality education across the district.
Other major investments in the budget include school and program expansions, staff positions like social workers and transformation coaches, and school pool maintenance and staffing.
The budget proposal also notes inflated costs of existing services. Bloom pointed to four major areas of increased costs: health insurance costs, collective bargaining agreements increases, out-of-district expenses — which include things like special education out-of-district costs and transportation for students experiencing homelessness or in DCF care — and the growth of special education costs in the district.
Within the budget, 93% of costs go directly to schools and students, Bloom said. The remaining 7% goes to the central office.
School Committee members initially pressed for more information on the priorities and level of spending in the budget. Member Michael O’Neill noted $1.5 billion is a “big budget.”
“With federal funds slowing down and potentially really being impacted in the future, we need to make sure that we are as efficient and as effective with taxpayer dollars as possible,” O’Neill said.
The School Committee will hold a series of public meetings before voting on the budget on March 26. The proposal will then move to the Boston City Council.