Worcester Public Schools’ adopted budget for FY26, From Here, Anywhere…Together! (including general and special revenue) of $586,302,044 is a 6.1% increase from the adopted budget of FY25. Paying for a Public Education: An Examination of the FY26 Worcester Public Schools’ Budget is the latest in an on-going series from the Bureau, analyzing the budget-making process of the Worcester Public Schools and some of the new additions to this coming year’s adopted budget.
The report begins with an explanation of how the budget process works, including an explanation of how Massachusetts’ Ch. 70 education funding works. The “Foundation Budget” is the basis by which the Worcester Public Schools are funded, but it is not the end of the process. The FY26 budget is a 6.1% increase from FY25. This year, the District did not face the same aid deficit it did in FY25 due to the state’s inflation cap. The District itself saw an enrollment increase of 1.75%, or 428 students, between FY24 and FY25, increasing the overall baseline foundation enrollment numbers used to calculate state and local aid.
REVENUES & EXPENDITURES
The report explains the City of Worcester’s role in funding its public schools; 24.8% of the foundation budget for FY26 consists of a required local contribution. It also describes the reduction in July 2025 of the charter school reimbursement, due to the Governor’s line item reduction of the state’s FY26 budget. Additionally, it explains special revenues, like the Child Nutrition Program, that play a crucial role in funding WPS. This year, they saw a 5.45% increase from FY25, but uncertainty at the federal level could play a future role in this revenue line.
Worcester Public Schools’ largest expenditures are in the salaries and benefits of its employees. 86% of its budget consists of salaries and benefits. WPS budgeted for 5,109 employees in FY26, of which about 66% directly teach students. While the number of teachers grew by 2.1% (56 positions) and paraeducators by 2.5% (17 positions) since FY25, there are still more than 100 teachers fewer than there were in FY24 and 33 fewer than in FY23. Overall, there are 286 fewer employees than in FY24, and 40 fewer than in FY23 — a direct result of the state aid deficit that WPS faced in FY25 thanks to the state’s inflation cap.
DEVELOPMENTS TO WATCH
- There have been several instances this year already of federal grants being put on hold nationwide that would have affected Worcester. With the Department of Education in flux, this will continue to potentially be an issue for WPS going forward.
- Next year is the final phase-in year of new Student Opportunity Act funds. How will the District handle them going forward?
- FY25 was a difficult year for WPS, as it faced an unanticipated deficit in state aid thanks to a higher rate of experienced inflation that the state’s 4.5% inflation cap could not match. There has been some movement in the Commonwealth’s General Court to rectify this problem, and it is a development to watch.
- Finally, the Governor enacted an FY26 state budget line item reduction of $20 million in next year’s charter school reimbursements. This will affect Worcester to the tune of $2 million, that will affect the already passed budget, and could continue to present problems in the future.
Download Paying for a Public Education.