Claremont Academy

Press Release

Worcester Public Schools Releases Proposed FY26 Budget of $586M

Represents 6% Increase, No Layoffs Anticipated, Continuing to Monitor Federal Funds

Media Contact:
Dan O'Brien, Chief Communications Officer

WORCESTER – Friday, May 9, 2025 – Today, the Worcester Public Schools (WPS) released its proposed budget for fiscal year 2026, totaling $586,302,044, which represents an increase of $33.8 million or 6.1% from the current FY25 budget.

All the details are contained in the FY26 Budget Book, which is posted on worcesterschools.org/budget. 

The Worcester School Committee is scheduled to hold public meetings on the budget on May 19, May 27 (with City Council), June 5, and June 18, when a vote is expected. The FY26 fiscal year begins July 1, 2025.

After taking into account significant increases in salaries, benefits, and inflation, WPS will experience a modest increase available for new spending for FY26, of about $3.6 million, following a large-scale $22 million budget reduction in FY25. 

No layoffs are planned due to the budget next year. However, WPS continues to monitor actions by the federal government, which provides 9% of the district budget. Additionally, the state legislature may make adjustments to the final amount that WPS receives.

“I am grateful we can begin to move our resource allocation in the right direction to support our scholars, especially our highest need students, even if we are doing so incrementally,” said Dr. Rachel H. Monárrez, Superintendent of Worcester Public Schools. “While factors such as inflation reimbursement and health benefits pose a challenge, we are building upon a strong foundation to ensure funding is used in the most effective manner possible, now and in the future.”

“This budget prioritizes classroom investments, including common planning time and textbook and technology purchases, despite ongoing challenges,” said Brian Allen, who will become Superintendent on July 1 and is currently the Deputy Superintendent, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operations Officer. “Through it all, we are putting educator voice at the forefront and ensuring our budget is rooted in the district’s Vision of a Learner and strategic plan priorities.”

FY26 will mark the first year that WPS has instituted its equity-based budgeting process, developed by Allen and Dr. Monárrez, which prioritizes how additional funds can be used to support the highest-need schools. This framework will be used for upcoming years.

This funding will be used to add eight Culture and Climate Assistants in secondary schools to enhance the safety and well-being of students and staff, along with allowing for more common planning time for teachers — designed to free up educators from non-instructional duties such as monitoring bathrooms in order to plan instruction; and, at six high-needs elementary schools, allocates $240,000 for existing instructional staff for additional hours of common planning time to enhance instruction.

The FY26 proposed budget will also:

• Maintain an average class size of 21 students to 1 teacher 

• Provide equitable caseloads of 30 students for elementary special education teachers in non-substantially separate classrooms

• Maintain the recommended 250-to-1 ratio of guidance and school adjustment counselors per student

• Maintains one-to-one ratios of devices through the replacement lease of 6,000 new Chromebooks

• Provides new secondary math textbooks 

• Funds an elementary Spark summer school and after-school program 

• Maintains “late” buses at all secondary schools to allow student participation in after-school programs

• Maintain all school nurse positions

• Maintain all athletic programming

• Maintains funding for the Facilities Management Department to allow for the timely response to high-priority needs and address preventative maintenance and repair projects

• Maintains funding for school safety to address recommendations in the comprehensive school safety audit report

Administrative Positions

Administrative positions remain only 1.3% of the district’s budget. Worcester Public Schools has the third-lowest amount of per-pupil spending toward district administrative positions versus other comparable Massachusetts urban districts, which are: Springfield, Lynn, Lawrence, Lowell, Holyoke, Brockton, and Boston. Worcester allocates $495 of per-pupil spending toward administration; only Fall River and New Bedford spend less, at $461 and $401 respectively.

There is a spending cap of 1.5% of the district’s foundation budget for administration positions, per the formula from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. As a result, the district will spend 63% less on district administration than the funding received by the state’s funding formula.

The district will reallocate an existing position into a newly-created Student Placement and Enrollment Administrator who will oversee all aspects of the Parent Information Center, with a goal of creating stronger and more efficient processes and systems for the enrollment of new students.

Additionally, the district will reallocate an existing vacant administrative position into a newly-created Director of Culture and Climate to provide better support for school culture and climate teams at no additional cost.

By The Numbers

*WPS share only. Does not include allocation for charter schools or school choice tuition assessments.

• The overall WPS FY26 proposed budget is $586,302,044, which is a $33.8 million increase (6.1%) from FY25, which was $552,457,285.

• The funding increase is largely attributed to student enrollment growth, which is tied to state aid. Officially, there were 24,350 students last year compared to 24,778 this year.

• FY26 marks the fifth year of the six-year phase-in of state Student Opportunity Act funding; WPS is to receive $17.3 million.

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