Candidates face cost of education

Full and original article posted on Telegram & Gazette

WORCESTER —  Anyone looking for a seat on the School Committee will have to be adept at stretching a dollar or finding new ones as the district tries to serve a challenging student population during tight financial times.

The city spends less on its students than the state average, yet its students are likely to be among the most challenging in the state to teach: 70.1 percent of its students come from low-income families (compared to 16.3 percent statewide), 31.8 percent do not speak proficient English (compared to 7.1 percent statewide) and 20.9 percent qualify for special education (compared to 17 percent statewide).

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