There may be over $28 million dollars in state aid in the pipeline for Middleboro and Lakeville, following Governor Maura Healey’s signing of the 2025 state budget into law on Monday, July 29. 

An estimated total of $26,500,785 in state funds will go to Middleboro and an estimated $1,999,795 in funds will be allocated to Lakeville. 

The majority of the funds for each town will go towards education and government expenses. 

Middleboro is slated to receive $22,747,127 for its schools, nearly 100% of which comes from  Chapter 70 funding. It will also receive $3,753,658 for government aid, public institutions and state-owned lands.

Lakeville will be granted $761,976.00 in education funds and just over $1.2 million for municipal government spending. While Lakeville will not receive any additional Chapter 70 funding over last year, it will see a 65.6% increase in Smart Growth School Reimbursement aid. 

Chapter 70 funding supports public schools and sets requirements such as the minimum amount a school district must spend per pupil. 

Middleboro receives much more in state funding because the bulk of the state aid goes towards education and Middleboro has its own school district, whereas Lakeville has a regional school district, according to the state representative for both towns, Norman Orrall. 

Middleboro saw a small increase in its Chapter 70 funding from last year, thanks to a push from several voices in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, including Orrall. 

Orrall said he was one of the representatives lobbying to raise the minimum amount of state spending per student from $30 to $104, which explains the additional Chapter 70 funding that Middleboro received. 

In general, Orrall said he was “satisfied” with the amount of state aid that both towns were given. 

Orrall said he is conscious about not raising taxes, but once revenues are allocated to the towns, he would like for Lakeville and Middleboro to get a higher share. His priority would be to allocate more money to education, he said.