School districts that serve Massachusetts’ rural communities are facing significant fiscal challenges, particularly as they contend with declining enrollments, stagnant revenue, and increasing costs.
M.A.S.S. is committed to supporting our members who lead rural districts, and we are proud to partner with other organizations that are fighting for equity by advocating for funding increases to address the unique needs of these districts.
In July 2022, the Massachusetts Special Commission on the Fiscal Health of Rural School Districts, commissioned by the legislature, released “A Sustainable Future for Rural School Districts,” a detailed report that outlined challenges and opportunities in rural school districts.
The report states: “Rural schools are located in regions confronting a shifting economy, demographic changes, insufficient state investment in infrastructure, and more. In the Commonwealth’s more rural regions where these schools operate, wages remain depressed, employment opportunities are limited, property values have stagnated, and the general population has declined significantly, as has student enrollment. The result is many rural school students simply no longer benefit from an education with the same level of resources and breadth of opportunity as their peers in the rest of the state.”
The Commission’s report estimated also affirmed that school districts with very low student enrollments cost substantially more to fund on a per-pupil basis than typical school districts, estimating that districts with 1,300 students or fewer cost 16.7% more to operate than the state average and that small K-12 regional school districts cost 22.7% more to operate than larger ones.
Click here for additional facts and figures about the needs of rural schools in Massachusetts.
A grassroots organizing team is leading a Rural Schools Advocacy effort, focused on educating and persuading legislators and other state officials to:
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restore the $4 million cut from FY26 Rural Aid through a supplemental budget,
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fully fund Rural School Aid at $60 million in FY27,
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reopen the Chapter 70 foundation formula, and
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pass the Rural Schools Bill.
