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Boston Globe

Even well-to-do towns like Milton are hard hit by school fiscal problems

As Massachusetts districts struggle with inflation and other rising costs, even well-to-do communities like Milton, where home values average a million dollars, are feeling the financial pinch, often in very big ways. 'What's occurring in Milton is really a microcosm of the perfect storm that's been happening in districts across the Commonwealth, where several major costs have been rising exponentially while revenue has remained relatively flat,' said Elizabeth Carroll, the Milton School Committee chair. 'That's especially true in a town like ours where we lack any significant commercial tax base." Advertisement Likewise, The financial hardships are emerging nearly seven years after state lawmakers Advertisement 'This should be a golden era of school funding investment in Massachusetts because of the Student Opportunity Act, but we had the highest inflation since the 1970s,' said Colin Jones, deputy policy director at the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Related : Districts experienced inflationary increases of just over 7 and 8 percent during the 2022-23 and the 2023-24 school years. The funding gap added to other swelling costs, including salaries, insurance premiums, transportation contracts, and costs for out-of-district special education programs. Meanwhile, the loss of federal pandemic relief funds have expired. The state's school funding debate in Massachusetts has largely focused on districts in the greatest financial need, which received the lion's share of the additional state aid approved in 2019, and on rural and regional school districts with declining enrollments. But the financial strains in tony districts exemplify how deep and widespread the problems have become. Affluent communities like Milton receive less per student than other districts under the state's school funding formula, which relies strongly on property wealth and household income levels, out of a belief that their residents can afford to pay more in taxes. Under Governor Maura Healey's proposed state budget for next year, Milton would receive $12.5 million in education aid, known as Chapter 70, which goes to the school system and other educational expenses, such as charter school tuition. In order to maintain level services, Milton school leaders are aiming to spend about $73 million next year. Advertisement Milton stands apart from its affluent peers in some ways that raises questions about its financial commitment to its schools. Per student spending in Milton, which averages $18,925 in 2023, is nearly $3,000 below the state average, putting it in the bottom 30th percentile in the state, according to the most recent data. Milton has had three operating overrides in the last 20 years, which were in 2017, 2009, and 2006, and ranged in value between $2.4 million and $3.4 million, according to the state Department of Revenue. Voters approved each one. Advocates for this year's override are hoping to achieve similar success. Related : Haley Byron, who has three children at Tucker Elementary School, is supporting the override. She is worried about critical school and town jobs getting cut. Particularly alarming to her is the potential elimination of the full-day prekindergarten at Tucker. 'I don't know what's more important than educating our kids and investing in them and the people taking care of them and teaching them,' Byron said. If the override passes, the property tax bill for an average single-family home, which is currently assessed at $1,028,457, would increase by an additional $1,063 for fiscal year 2026, resulting in a total tax bill of $12,857, according to the town's website. If the override fails, taxes would still go up, but not by as much, $389. Brendan Bonn, president of the Milton Educators Association, said a rejection would be 'extremely aren't going to get what they deserve.' Many questions remain over how Milton schools racked up its deficits. A recent School Committee presentation noted spending amounts in some parts of the budget relied on past budgeted figures instead of actual spending, which was much higher. Such has been the case with utilities and substitute teachers, as the district has underbudgeted by hundreds of thousands at least two years in a row. Advertisement It is a problem the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education identified in 2022 when it conducted a targeted review of the district, recommending that Milton include 'actual expenditures from previous years in budget documents.' For the most part, though, the review found Milton schools to be in good shape financially. The district also has added nearly 80 positions since 2018, some funded with federal pandemic aid and other grants. Amid the budget crisis, Superintendent Peter Burrows In hindsight, Richard G. Wells, Jr., the Select Board chair, said the town probably should have pursued an override last year, noting the financial crisis in the schools is the most pressing issue in the town. 'If you look at the town of Milton as a human body, it's hemorrhaging,' Wells said, 'and you have to find a way quickly to stop the hemorrhaging.' James Vaznis can be reached at