Revenue $310,893,296
Historical State Aid & State Assessments
| 2023 Final Conference Committee | 2024 FINAL Conference Committee | 2024 % Change | 2025 FINAL Conference Committee | 2025 % Change | 2026 FINAL Conference Committee | 2026 % Change | 2027 Governor's Budget | 2027 House Budget | 2027 % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 70 | $73,906,310 | $82,633,811 | 11.8% | $87,968,052 | 6.5% | $94,219,635 | 7.1% | $96,427,042 | $96,427,042 | 2.3% |
| Charter Tuition Reimbursement | $1,611,461 | $1,377,211 | -14.5% | $1,345,511 | -2.3% | $787,542 | -41.5% | $1,170,508 | $942,297 | 19.7% |
| Veterans Benefits | $411,550 | $381,368 | -7.3% | $356,397 | -6.5% | $457,435 | 28.3% | $409,676 | $407,089 | -11.0% |
| Elderly & Veterans Exemptions | $201,319 | $189,452 | -5.9% | $193,696 | 2.2% | $333,805 | 72.3% | $347,433 | $347,433 | 4.1% |
| State Owned Land | $1,445 | $1,714 | 18.6% | $1,754 | 2.3% | $1,754 | 0.0% | $1,799 | $1,794 | 2.3% |
| Unrestricted General Government Aid | $11,385,053 | $11,749,375 | 3.2% | $12,101,856 | 3.0% | $12,234,976 | 1.1% | $12,540,132 | $12,327,448 | 0.8% |
| Sub-Total Cherry Sheet Receipts | $87,517,138 | $96,332,931 | 10.1% | $101,967,266 | 5.8% | $108,035,147 | 6.0% | $110,896,590 | $110,453,103 | 2.2% |
| OFFSET ITEMS: School Choice & Library | $246,346 | $247,461 | 0.5% | $253,042 | 2.3% | $231,585 | -8.5% | $236,856 | $229,856 | -0.7% |
| Total Cherry Sheet Receipts | $87,763,484 | $96,580,392 | 10.0% | $102,220,308 | 5.8% | $108,266,732 | 5.9% | $111,133,446 | $110,682,959 | 2.2% |
| Assessments - SPECIAL EDUCATION | $(77,160) | $(48,662) | -36.9% | $(43,634) | -10.3% | $(38,054) | -12.8% | $(38,077) | $(38,531) | 1.3% |
| Assessments - SCHOOL CHOICE SENDING | $(1,010,851) | $(986,813) | -2.4% | $(1,081,431) | 9.6% | $(1,237,105) | 14.4% | $(1,761,487) | $(1,398,390) | 13.0% |
| Assessments - CHARTER SCHOOL | $(6,113,639) | $(6,651,955) | 8.8% | $(7,027,626) | 5.6% | $(7,119,904) | 1.3% | $(7,645,932) | $(7,576,328) | 6.4% |
| Assessments - AIR POLLUTION DISTRICTS | $(19,010) | $(19,743) | 3.9% | $(20,202) | 2.3% | $(21,072) | 4.3% | $(19,979) | $(19,979) | -5.2% |
| Assessments - RMV NON-RENEWAL | $(126,140) | $(100,280) | -20.5% | $(124,500) | 24.2% | $(124,500) | 0.0% | $(130,180) | $(130,180) | 4.6% |
| Assessments - MBTA | $(850,089) | $(871,341) | 2.5% | $(893,125) | 2.5% | $(919,762) | 3.0% | $(942,755) | $(942,755) | 2.5% |
| Assessments - MOSQUITO CONTROL | $(144,859) | $(148,317) | 2.4% | $(153,875) | 3.7% | $(160,649) | 4.4% | $(165,272) | $(165,272) | 2.9% |
| Total Cherry Sheet Assessments | $(8,341,748) | $(8,827,111) | 5.8% | $(9,344,393) | 5.9% | $(9,621,046) | 3.0% | $(10,703,682) | $(10,271,435) | 6.8% |
| TOTAL ESTIMATED CHERRY SHEET LESS OFFSETS & ASSESSMENTS | $79,421,736 | $87,753,281 | 10.5% | $92,875,915 | 5.8% | $98,645,686 | 6.2% | $100,429,764 | $100,411,524 | 1.8% |
| 2024 % Change | 10.5% |
|---|---|
| 2025 % Change | 5.8% |
| 2026 % Change | 6.2% |
| Sum of 2027 % Change | 1.8% |
Historical Comparison of State Aid
| Cherry Sheet Assessments | Cherry Sheet Receipts | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 % Change | 5.8% | 10.0% |
| 2025 % Change | 5.9% | 5.8% |
| 2026 % Change | 3.0% | 5.9% |
| 2027 % Change | 6.8% | 2.2% |
| Chapter 70 | Unrestricted General Government Aid | |
|---|---|---|
| Sum of 2024 % Change | 11.8% | 3.2% |
| Sum of 2025 % Change | 6.5% | 3.0% |
| Sum of 2026 % Change | 7.1% | 1.1% |
| Sum of 2027 % Change | 2.3% | 0.8% |
Declining State Aid
In a recent article published by the Massachusetts Municipal Association, titled "A Perfect Storm: Cities and Towns Face Historic Fiscal Pressures," MMA claims that nationwide, cities and towns receive about 31 percent of their revenue via state aid; in Massachusetts, it's 26 percent.
Virtually all municipalities in Massachusetts have seen similar dropoffs in unrestricted state support. Since 2002, when adjusted for inflation, UGGA has fallen 25 percent overall. A decade after the true trough of the great recession, UGGA support has stalled at a relatively low level — despite many years of strong state revenue growth and healthy economic conditions.
Between 2010 and 2022 (the most recent year available), real, inflation-adjusted spending on current operations in Massachusetts municipalities grew at just 0.6 percent per year, which is slower than the U.S. average for local spending growth. It's also vastly slower than the growth in real spending through the state budget, which has risen at roughly 2.8 percent per year.
mma.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/MMA-APerfectStorm-HistoricFiscalPressures-report-10.9.25.pdf