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FY25 State Aid

State aid is the City’s second-largest single source of general fund revenue, although it has declined as a share of recurring revenue over the past two decades.

State aid is comprised of revenue paid to the City net of state assessments, or charges, the City is required to pay to the state.

State Aid and Assessments

State Aid Revenue

State Aid refers primarily to distributions from the state to municipalities for Chapter 70 education aid, unrestricted general government aid (UGGA), and charter school tuition reimbursement. The FY25 State Aid budget totals $515.2 million, a $1.1 million, or 0.2%, decrease from FY24. This decrease is driven mostly by the Charter School Tuition Reimbursement, down $8.5 million (-15.4%). Small increases to both UGGA ($6.8 million or 3.0%) and Chapter 70 education aid ($1.7 million or 0.7%) mitigated the overall loss of funding. State aid sources include:

  • Chapter 70 Education Aid - $232.4 million
  • Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) - $233.3 million
  • Charter School Tuition Reimbursement - $46.5 million 
  • Other categories, including State Owned Land and Veterans Benefits - $3.1 million
State Assessments

Assessments are budgeted to increase by $8.9 million, or 2.3%, totaling $392.1 million. They include:

  • Charter School Tuition - $287.3 million
  • MBTA - $97.3 million
  • Other categories, including RMV Non-Renewal Surcharge and School Choice Sending Tuition - $7.5 million

Net State Aid

State Aid Over Time

Net State Aid by fiscal year since FY08 has generally been decreasing year-over-year. Hovering over the different points will display each year’s revenue, assessments and net state aid.

FY24 and FY25 are budgeted amounts.

Net State Aid equals state revenue minus state assessments. Net State Aid in the FY24 budget totals $133.2 million. In FY25 this amount is budgeted to decrease by $10.1 million to $123.1 million.

Between FY08 and FY25, Net State Aid has decreased by $241.9 million, or a 76.4% drop. This loss of resources has put significant pressure on the City to generate necessary revenue from property tax and local revenue sources to fund current expenditure levels. 

Net Education Aid

State Aid Over Time

Net Education Aid by fiscal year since FY08 has generally been decreasing year-over-year. Hovering over the different points will display each year’s revenue, assessments and net education aid.

FY24 and FY25 are budgeted amounts.

Net Education Aid is a portion of state aid that for education items only. Net Education Aid is the sum of Chapter 70 Education Aid and the Charter School Tuition Reimbursement less the Charter School Tuition Assessment. Net Education Aid in the FY25 budget totals -$8.4 million, a decrease of $13.0 million from FY24. This means that the City pays more in assessments than it receives in aid.

Between FY08 and FY25, Net Education Aid has decreased by $182.6 million, or a 104.8% drop. Over this time the Charter School Tuition Assessment has grown by 418%, greatly outpacing state aid. The negative net aid balance estimated for FY25 puts added stress on this year's education budget.

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