WORCESTER—The Worcester School Committee on Feb. 5 received its first look at preliminary Fiscal Year 2027 budget projections, which show a moderate increase in spending as the district works through uncertainties around state aid, city contributions and enrollment trends.
Chief Financial and Operations Officer Sara Consalvo presented early estimates indicating a proposed general fund budget of $553.5 million, an increase of $27.8 million, or 5.3%, over the current fiscal year. The figures are preliminary and subject to change as state and municipal funding decisions are finalized in the coming months.
Consalvo said the proposed increase would support level services across the district, with no significant budget cap anticipated at this stage.
General fund projections
While the net increase to the general fund totals $27.8 million, district officials said the underlying cost pressures driving the budget amount to roughly $27.9 million overall. Those costs reflect projected salary increases of $21 million, a $5.7 million rise in health insurance expenses, $200,000 in additional contracted transportation costs and roughly $1 million across other non-salary accounts.
The preliminary budget assumes $437.7 million in Chapter 70 state aid and a city contribution of $161.6 million. It does not include any additional city funding from free cash, which had totaled $3.8 million in Fiscal Year 2026 but has been set at zero for 2027 as discussions with city officials continue.
Consalvo said the district anticipates a $25.9 million increase in state aid and a $7.8 million increase in the city contribution. Federal grant funding is also being monitored, though officials do not expect major changes at this time.
“Our planning remains focused on equitable resource allocation,” Consalvo said. “We are maintaining our district staffing parameters such as 21:1 average class size and targeted student to staff ratio. We also continue our work with the school boundary realignment to ensure programming aligns with each building’s capacity. We anticipate realignment recommendations being provided in June and ongoing community discussions through the fall of 2026 for implementation at the start of the 2027-2028 school year.”
Enrollment, inflation and state funding
Consalvo also reviewed early foundation budget projections, a state-calculated benchmark that helps determine minimum school funding levels based on enrollment, inflation, and the district’s phased implementation of the student opportunity act.
The data showed a modest overall enrollment decline of 101 students, or about 0.41%, with decreases concentrated in lower grades.
“While we saw a slight growth in the middle and high school populations, there was a more noticeable decrease at the pre-school and elementary levels,” Consalvo said. “At grades K–6 enrollment decreased by 96 students and pre-school enrollment dropped by an additional 72 students.”
Inflation continues to be a significant factor, with employee benefit costs rising to 8.29%, the highest level since 2022, and a moderate foundation inflation rate of 2.76% applied to other budget categories.
The district is also entering the sixth and final year of the student opportunity act phase-in, which Consalvo said will provide an additional $18.4 million in funding for Fiscal Year 2027.
Taken together, these factors resulted in a year-over-year increase of $33.8 million in the foundation budget, bringing it to $581.2 million. That figure helped guide early general fund calculations, which initially totaled $599.4 million before tuition and state special education assessments were factored in to reach the current $553.5 million estimate.
District officials said the preliminary budget will be reviewed by various committees and discussed at upcoming roundtables over the next several months. The superintendent’s proposed budget is expected to be submitted in May, with public hearings scheduled for June.
Jason Bleau can be reached at bleau.jason@yahoo.com
