Massachusetts Schools Face Severe Budget Cuts: Over 1,000 Teacher Positions at Risk in Upcoming Year

Proposed budget constraints are threatening more than 1,400 educator and staff positions across approximately 70 school districts in Massachusetts, according to data collected by the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA).

The MTA reported on May 18, 2026, that roughly 1,410 positions are currently proposed for elimination. This figure includes 919 positions for teachers and 182 positions for education support professionals, although many other cuts remained unspecified in the data gathered from local districts.

MTA President Max Page described the situation as critical for students who require increased support.

1,400 educators will not be in the classroom or in schools supporting our kids

Max Page, MTA President

Page added that the current number is likely incomplete and characterized the choices facing communities as terrible.

The proposed reductions are widespread, impacting several major municipalities. Boston has proposed the highest number of cuts, with 568 positions targeted in a budget proposal passed by the local school committee in March 2026. While some of these cuts target currently vacant positions, the proposal also includes hundreds of layoffs. The Boston Public Schools (BPS) budget is currently awaiting approval from the City Council.

Other districts facing significant reductions include:

• Brockton: 83 proposed cuts
• Framingham: 81 proposed cuts
• Methuen: 70 proposed cuts
• Mendon-Upton: 70 proposed cuts
• Marshfield: Approximately 63 proposed cuts

In Lexington, the district announced in March 2026 that it is eliminating the equivalent of about 65 full-time positions for the next fiscal year.

Within Boston Public Schools, Superintendent Mary Skipper proposed a $1.71 billion budget for the upcoming school year. During a school committee meeting on April 2, 2026, Skipper stated that the district expected to cut between 300 and 400 staff positions due to rising costs.

As I’ve been saying since last year, we’re facing challenging times and this budget represents those times. We’ll need to make hard decisions and reductions in spending that does not directly support students.

Mary Skipper, BPS Superintendent

The proposed cuts in Boston have met with resistance from staff and parents. Stephanie Golas, a BPS librarian and parent, argued that certain services must be protected to ensure student success.

Cuts cannot come in the form of loss of paraprofessionals, programming, classroom, support and mental health services. These are non-negotiable and vital to our students’ success and wellbeing.

Stephanie Golas, BPS librarian and parent

The financial pressures driving these proposals are attributed to several systemic factors. Max Page cited a combination of diminishing enrollment, skyrocketing health care costs, and cuts to federal funding. Local teachers have pointed to issues regarding local investment as a contributing factor to the budget constraints.