FY2026 Per Pupil Administrative Cost Average

May 19, 2025

Section 10.04 of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Regulations for School Finance, and Section VI of DESE's Guidelines for Student and Financial Reporting provide the option of charging and reporting municipal administrative costs based on the statewide average cost per student of these services. For municipalities and school committees that have agreed to use this method for their budgeting and year-end reporting, the per pupil administrative average cost to be used in FY2026 is $152.77.

Financial Report and in-district enrollment derived from end-of-year SIMS submissions.

If you have any questions, please contact Jose.Farias@mass.gov , or at 781-338-6521.

Administrative Cost Averages FY2017 to FY2026

Year	Cost Average ($/pupil)
FY2017	$111.82
FY2018	$118.09
FY2019	$119.07
FY2020	$121.53
FY2021	$123.32
FY2022	$129.48
FY2023	$141.28
FY2024	$139.93
FY2025	$145.19
FY2026	$152.77

Last Updated: May 19, 2025