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Fall River Superintendent Tracy Curley: $186 million in school-related funding approved
FALL RIVER — Superintendent Tracy Curley has announced that the Fall River City Council and Mayor Paul Coogan has approved $186 million in school-related funding for the 2024-2025 academic year.
The city budget, which took effect Monday, includes a $175,770,406 appropriation for the schools and $10,897,280 for school transportation. Those funding levels represent increases of 7.2% and 5.4%, respectively, over last year.
The budget provides sufficient money to absorb all positions currently funded by federal ESSER grants, which are expiring on September 30, as well as funding for a new elementary school, which will help reduce class sizes district wide.
“On behalf of the schoolchildren of Fall River, I want to thank Mayor Coogan and the City Council for prioritizing our schools and ensuring Fall River students have the teachers and support staff they require to learn and thrive,” Superintendent Curley said. “The positions that have been funded by ESSER grants are a critical piece of our strategy to support our students’ mental health, behavioral and academic needs.”
Of the 89 positions currently funded with ESSER dollars, 81 will be absorbed into the district’s operating budget. Another 8 positions will be funded using federal Title I grants.
The budget also funds a new elementary school in the Westall School District. The new school will have the ability to host approximately 300 students, who live within a one-mile radius of the site, which will offer a traditional “neighborhood” opportunity for families and alleviate class size pressures across the city. In addition, the budget will allow the district to continue the curriculum adoption process across multiple content areas, and coordinate professional development opportunities that emphasize support and gap-closing strategies for English learners and students with disabilities.
“At a time when many school districts around the state are making hard decisions regarding staffing levels, Fall River is continuing to invest in our students’ education by maintaining staffing levels, support structures, and other instructional resources across the district,” Superintendent Curley said. “I am grateful to all the stakeholders who came together and endorsed a FY2025 budget that places our students first.”
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Gary
July 2, 2024 at 7:00 pm
“Massachusetts Taxpayers Pay More”!
MA DEMS spend over a Billion Plus a year, on Obidens, and Healeys, ‘Open Borders’ new arrivals!
Plus some FREE Measles, Etc., also?
Could you dream if that was used to Offset Overburden MA Taxpayers Costs, for Schools, Social Programs, Health INS for Open Borders Folks?, and Layabouts Programs?
Dr. David
July 3, 2024 at 10:36 am
The amount of money spent on the Fall River school system, or any public school system is staggering. For example, the annual budget for Providence School System almost one half billion.
The Public School system that emerged post World War 2 in the 1950s is now in 2024 a completely failed institution. …. A public school system is now essentially a teacher union employment program riddled with incompetence and financial and moral corruption.
As creature of the Marxist leftist democrat party …. the system seeks to destroy the youth fed into it. Don’t think so ? … LOOK AT THE PRODUCT. You would be better letting your kids stay home all day and play with gasoline and matches than send them to any public school. Also, never forget what they did to you during the “COVID” scam. Leftist Teacher Unions told the Public Schools to shut down and the schools all shut down
Gary Dunn
July 3, 2024 at 6:31 pm
They get anything they want shameful
Barrack Warren
July 3, 2024 at 6:55 pm
We need to expand our public school budgets drastically, especially with an increasing population of ESL students entering our region.
For a few pennies the dollar in tax money, we could do so much more.
Anonymous
July 3, 2024 at 8:02 pm
Maybe they should provide school buses for the students who live to far away from durfee instead they have these children taking city buses an maybe a lot of children has never taken the city bus my child being one of those children so I have to drop an pick up 2 children one being elementary age then get my other child to durfee an they start at different times but by 10 mins apart don’t give me much time to drop one at doran then hurry to durfee they get all this money but can’t provide buses for the older children they want them taking the city buses I won’t allow my child to ride then he has never taken a city bus
Barrack Warren
July 4, 2024 at 6:34 am
A good idea would have to be to build two or three smaller high schools so that students who don’t live in the Highland area could have more access to a school.
If a big school needed to stay, it could have been more centrally located, but the city’s white establishment and power structure shut down every effort to get that suggestion heard.
I’m afraid I have to disagree with private buses, as a bus virtue signals racial stereotypes to our young POC.
Small community-based schools within walking distance of students’ homes, where parents with transportation issues can frequently visit are the true answer. However, in Fall River – a city with a dark and racist history, this would never be the case.
Live in the Highlands and have access to everything.