Education
Haverhill, Other School Districts Ask for Extra Money, Say State Failed to Account for Rising Costs
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With school districts across the state contemplating staff and program cuts, education advocacy groups are asking House Democrats for a further boost to the state’s annual aid injection for public schools. Haverhill schools are no different with School Committee members saying they must overcome a projected $11.1 million deficit in the spending plan for the year that begins July 1. In his presentation to a workshop last week, Assistant Superintendent Michael J. Pfifferling pointed to a significantly smaller increase in state aid than necessary to keep up with rising costs. The School Committee meets tonight and discusses, among other things, the impact of ending pandemic-era relief such as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. State aid for public schools, issued through under Chapter 70 of state law, increases every year to account for how prices have gone up across the economy.