Hinds Secures $4 Million For Rural Schools

State Senator Adam Hinds has announced that the Massachusetts State Senate adopted his budget amendment to increase funding for the Rural School Aid grant program by $1 million raising the total appropriation for this account to $4 million in the FY22 Senate Budget.  

A child’s zip code should not determine the quality of their education... Rural school districts experience fiscal uncertainty every year because of their unique and substantial challenges. My hope is that with this $4 million DESE can provide fiscal relief to even more school districts in rural areas across the Commonwealth.  

In a media release today, Hinds said that the Rural School Aid grant program helps school districts with low population densities and lower-than-average incomes address fiscal challenges and take steps to improve efficiency.   

These funds are critical for rural school districts that do not have the same resources or funding as their urban counterparts... As children return to school after nearly a full academic calendar year of learning virtually, it is necessary we provide school districts across the Commonwealth the resources and funding to succeed. 

 

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Administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Rural School Aid is a source of funding separate from Chapter 70 aid. In order to qualify for Rural School Aid, the department must determine that a school district has the “Rural Factor” – referring to student density per square mile of a school district, and that the school district has the “Ability to Pay” - referring to the average per capital income of a school district.      

Senator Hinds, who serves on the Senate Committee on Ways & Means, has worked extensively with colleagues this session to continue to build awareness and support for the needs of rural schools, and the grant program, which provides financial assistance to the Commonwealth’s most rural school districts.