Andover Public Schools could receive roughly $599,000 in new state aid under a $100 million supplemental budget Gov. Maura Healey filed on Thursday, July 9. North Andover Public Schools would get an estimated $489,000.
The money would land as Andover continues to navigate tight budgets. In January, the school committee projected a $901,000 gap for fiscal year 2027 and flagged the possible elimination of up to 8.7 positions, including teachers, paraprofessionals, and mental health counselors. Whether that gap has since been closed is unclear from public records.
Healey's proposal would distribute the funds using a formula based on FY27 enrollment, providing approximately $112 per student to all 319 Massachusetts school districts. The dollar estimates for Andover and North Andover are based on 2025-26 enrollment figures from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: 5,346 students in Andover and 4,362 in North Andover. Final amounts could shift once official FY27 enrollment numbers are published.
The supplemental spending would come on top of $160 million in minimum assistance already included in the $63.4 billion state budget Healey signed in early July. That budget fully funds the final year of the Student Opportunity Act, bringing total school funding statewide above $7.66 billion.
Where the money comes from
The proposal taps the voter-approved 4% surtax on income above $1 million. Revenue from that tax hit $3.1 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, a more than 20% jump over the same period a year earlier, according to the state Department of Revenue. The surtax, approved by voters in 2022, can only be spent on education or transportation.
What happens next
The supplemental budget requires approval from the state Legislature before any funds reach districts. No committee hearing date or floor vote has been scheduled.
Whether the state aid, if approved, would restore positions flagged for elimination during Andover's FY27 budget planning has not been addressed publicly by the school committee.
Matt Bach, an Andover teacher who became president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association in mid-July, called the proposal "welcome news" but urged lawmakers to act quickly and go further.
"While $100 million is significant, it will still not be enough to fully counterbalance the challenges facing our communities," Bach said in a prepared statement. "Spiraling costs for healthcare and special education and the outdated limitations that Proposition 2½ places on municipalities are forcing cities and towns to make decisions that are not in the best interests of students and families."
DESE Commissioner Pedro Martinez said in a prepared statement that the supplemental budget "will mean a lot to school district leaders, who have been trying their best to maintain needed services while balancing their budgets."
Bach said the funds should be used to prevent cuts to student-facing positions and preserve programs across academics and the arts.
