School finance leaders told the North Andover School Committee on Oct. 9 that joint work with town officials has begun to realign reporting and procurement practices, to encumber salaries and contracts more accurately in Munis, and to improve transparency after last year’s budget challenges.

Gail Dowd, the district’s interim finance director, said the school department and town finance team have been reconciling payroll, encumbrances and estimates for substitutes, athletics and transportation since the academic year began. “This includes our best estimates as of Oct. 3,” she said, adding that the district is “trending right where we thought we would be.”

Dowd told the committee the district received larger-than-expected circuit breaker funding from the state: the FY26 budgeted estimate was $2.3 million but the district was notified it would receive $3.3 million. She described the additional funds as an opportunity to build a reserve for future special-education costs and noted circuit breaker money must be spent within two years or returned. “Our goal,” she said, “is to get to a point where you have your circuit breaker fully funded in the bank.”

The committee approved a requested transfer to support an in-district return of a student. The motion shifted $25,000 from the out-of-district special-education tuition account into in-district special-education salaries to fund a teacher assistant and closer supports for a student moved back into the district; the transfer was moved, seconded and approved 5-0.

Committee members pressed staff on how placeholder estimates for out-of-district transportation and 45-day assessments were calculated. Dowd said finance and special-education staff maintain a watch list of potential placements and apply vendor rates and historical averages to estimate likely costs and transportation rates; the approach, she said, yields specific cost estimates rather than broad percentages.

The committee discussed the warrant process—the list of invoices and payroll the district approves for payment—at length. Members asked whether the committee’s current practice to sign a multi-page warrant remains the best governance model. Superintendent Pam Lathrop and committee members said Munis now restricts purchase orders that would overrun encumbrances; the district is working with town procurement to improve system-generated reports so the committee can clearly see encumbrances, expenditures and projections without manual data manipulation.

Lathrop and Dowd said the district and town have implemented or planned reforms enumerated in the joint memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the town: better monthly financial reporting, an indirect-cost allocation review, procurement training tied to Chapter 30B thresholds, expanded Munis implementation and a goal to have a certified procurement officer (MCPPO) in central office. The committee asked central office staff to produce regular system reports that show year-to-date actuals, encumbrances and realistic projections so members can track trends and flag anomalies earlier in the year.

The superintendent and finance staff also said they will continue to update the committee on special-education placements, out-of-district tuition and transportation estimates as the numbers crystallize through October and beyond.

Actions taken Oct. 9:

• Approved a $25,000 transfer from special-education out-of-district tuition to special-education salaries to fund TA support for a student returning to district placement (vote 5-0).

• Committee and administration committed to resuming monthly written financial reports for FY26 in line with the MOA, finishing the indirect-cost analysis, and continuing procurement and Munis implementation work.