Rural schools have long been cripplingly underfunded, lawmakers, rural educators and students testified last week, calling for a massive influx of funding to address the issue.

“We found that many rural schools do not benefit from education with the same level of resources and breadth of opportunities as their peers in the rest of the state,” said Lisa Battaglino, a Dean at Bridgewater State University and member of the state’s Commission on the Fiscal Health of Rural School Districts. “In other words, the rural schools and the children in the rural schools are getting less than what they need and deserve.”

Legislators, education organization representatives and others gathered virtually for a legislative briefing on rural and declining enrollment schools.

Attendees discussed the currently proposed “Act to provide a sustainable future for rural schools,” filed as House Bill 3567 by Rep. Natalie Blais and Senate Bill 2388 by Sen. Joanne Comerford.

The bills would broadly contribute funding — including increasing the state’s Rural School Aid from $5.5 million to $60 million — and other resources to address issues identified in the Rural Schools Commission Report released in July 2022.

The “heart of the problem,” Battaglino said, is insufficient per pupil funding in rural districts.

“That was a Rural Commission Report found it is fundamentally more expensive — again, it is fundamentally more expensive — to educate students in rural districts,” said Taunton Public Schools Superintendent John Cabral, citing the report’s findings that districts with under 1,300 students cost 17% more to operate than the state average.

Massachusetts has 65 districts that qualify for rural school aid based on population density.

The report also found that rural schools districts saw an approximately 14% decline in enrollment from 2012-2020, compared to an under 1% decline in the state overall. This causes a “downward cycle of reduced enrollment, reduced funding and diminished educational experiences,” the commission website notes.

During her time as a teacher in a Hatfield school, Sunderland School Committee Member Jessica Corwin said, the cost of keeping her children in daycare exceeded her pay and the district cut foreign language, all vocal music beyond sixth grade and all middle school sports.

Beyond the rural districts, speakers emphasized, the bills would provide critical support to all districts.

In addition to the rural schools funding increase, the bills include a large number of provisions — creating a fund for districts with “substantial and chronic enrollment decline;” funds for the costs of transporting special education students and students in rural school districts; incentives to increase the number of special educators; and more.

“Rural schools, they’re not asking for an advantage,” said Gateway Regional School District student Joey Pisani. “They’re asking for survival.”