Interim Superintendent Laura Perille is proposing a $1.14 billion budget for the next school year, a modest increase that would allow the Boston school system to overhaul science instruction in the lower grades and provide more funding for low-performing schools.
The budget, which was presented at Wednesday night’s School Committee meeting, is $26 million higher than this year’s spending level, a 2.4 percent increase. The overall amount of next year’s school budget should rise even higher by next fall if the school system and teachers union settle on a new contract that would replace the one that expired last year. The School Committee is expected to vote on the budget in late March.
The proposal comes as Mayor Martin J. Walsh has joined a group of mayors calling on Beacon Hill to provide more money for public education. Less than 4 percent of the Boston school system’s budget next school year is expected to be covered by state aid.
