The Numbers Are In

And Fitchburg does OK, depending on your point of view.

On the local aid side, Fitchburg does about as well as can be expected, going from $8,391,000 to $10,238,000, an increase of 22 percent, well above Romney's across-the-board 17 percent increase.

On the education aid side, the numbers aren't quite as strong. Chapter 70 jumps from $36,443,000 to $38,443,000. That's a 5 percent increase. While that's a positive, the new education aid formula is supposed to favor poorer communities. Without deeper study, it seems Fitchburg should have done better there.

Still 5 percent is a decent increase, and perhaps should be the focal point for further help as local officials and lawmakers poke through this budget. On the local aid side, an additional $2 million is a strong result, in our view.