On January 22nd, the Healey-Driscoll administration filed its budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. The $62.07 billion plan increases spending over the FY 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) by $4.3 billion (7.4 percent) and over the administration’s estimated spending level for FY 2025 of $60.26 billion by $1.8 billion (2.1 percent). 

In total, Governor Healey’s budget includes $9.5 billion for Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA), Chapter 70 state aid for public schools, and other major K-12 education programs. This includes funding for these programs supported by the income surtax and it represents 15.3 percent of all spending in the administration’s proposal for FY 2026. Funding for local aid and K-12 education is the second largest category of investments in the state budget, only behind spending on MassHealth.