Page 6 - 2024 Annual Report

T H E Y E A R IN R E VIE W

E D U C AT ION

This year the Bureau continued to release its updated analysis of the was followed by an overview by the Worcester Public Schools, and
Worcester Public Schools’ budget, Paying for a Public Education: An subsequent discussion, on the then-ongoing FY25 budget proposals.
Examination of the FY25 Worcester Public Schools’ Budget. This In January 2024, The Research Bureau released Understanding
report sought to concisely explain the more than $544 million budget of Your Neighborhood Schools, a never before seen tool in the City.
the schools, explaining to the lay reader the ins and outs of how, exactly, The Bureau, using publicly available spreadsheets, was able to map
public education is paid for. Just like the City, the Schools must have a the “catch zones” of each school in the City. These zones show the
budget in place by July 1 each year. In some sense, the budget is “fixed” geographic areas that are serviced by each school in the City. What
– the Commonwealth determines how much money must, at a minimum, makes this unprecedented, however, was that creating these maps
be spent by the Schools on its students – though cost centers and allowed for demographic and income comparisons of different school
sizes may differ slightly from year to year. Most of the Schools’ budget neighborhoods for the first time: when layered onto Census data,
in Worcester comes from state aid, which this year made up 72.1% of its the demographic compositions of each can be estimated, allowing
general revenue budget, or 64.3% of its total budget when including interested users to see how different school neighborhoods compare
grant revenues. This year, the Schools faced a revenue deficit, thanks to each other and to their local schools.
in part to the impacts of inflation on expenses and the Commonwealth’s
aid calculations. Last year’s edition of Paying for a Public Education, Continuing its focus on education policy, the Bureau published Building
was featured in an online FY25 Budget Forum focused on the Worcester the Future: Investing in Worcester Public Schools Facilities. This
Public Schools hosted by the Worcester Education Collaborative and report highlights the urgent need for strategic investment in Worcester
the Worcester Education Equity Roundtable. The Forum began with Public Schools (WPS) facilities and provides insights into the role of
a presentation on the Bureau’s report from September 2023, and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in Worcester and
across the Commonwealth. Supported by the Worcester Education
Collaborative, the report examines local contributions to these projects
WORCESTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS, SOURCES OF REVENUE, FY25 and includes an original analysis of the district’s 2017 Facilities Master
Plan to inform current planning efforts. The report concludes with
key recommendations for local leaders: developing a data-driven
priority list for critical needs, ensuring a transparent and equitable
process for selecting construction and repair projects, and analyzing
the relationship between school quality and student demographics.
The Bureau also recommends considering the consolidation of pre-
WWII schools and advocating for increased state investment in school

SCAN FOR MORE:

Paying for a Public
Education: An Examination
of the FY25 Worcester
Public Schools’ Budget

Understanding
Your Neighborhood
Schools
Worcester Public Schools Expenditure Centers
Total Employees* $462,306,585
Total Supplies and Services $81,572,493 Building the Future:
Investing in Worcester
Total Capital Equipment $930,771
Public Schools Facilities
Total Expenditures FY25 $544,809,849
Source: Worcester Public Schools, FY25 Budget. (*Employees includes salaries,
overtime, and fringe benefits)

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