Stoughton schools close FY25 near balance; ESSER and shelter funds end, district flags fiscal pressure for 2026 budget
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Summary
Finance director reported final FY25 figures, noted use of shelter reimbursements and limited carryover of one-time state/federal funds, and warned of increased special-education and out-of-district tuition pressures for future budgets.
The Stoughton Public Schools closed fiscal year 2025 with its year-end accounting largely finalized, but administrators told the School Committee on Oct. 14 that one-time federal and shelter funds that helped balance recent budgets have ended and will increase budget pressure next year.
Heidi Perkins, director of finance, presented the FY25 closeout and a summary of revolving and student-activity accounts. Perkins said the district completed end-of-year entries and used available shelter reimbursements and a limited use of circuit-breaker funds to avoid a deficit; she said the district will return $349.52 to the town from an unemployment purchase order.
Perkins said ESSER (federal COVID-relief) funding ended more than a year ago and that shelter-related reimbursements the district received are not recurring; the shelter fund payments finished this past summer. Perkins said that while shelter reimbursements provided a one-time offset, the district will not receive similar funds in the future and that the FY27 outlook will be tighter because those buffers will be gone.
Perkins also reported that out-of-district tuition and special-education transportation costs rose above budget during FY25 and are projecting additional pressure in the current year; she said the district had already added multiple kindergarten sections and a fourth-grade section over the summer because of enrollment increases, which created additional unbudgeted costs.
Perkins recommended the committee consider those ongoing cost pressures while building the FY27 budget and noted that some positions are currently funded from one-time sources this year. She said the district plans to provide the committee with a line-item breakdown and that she is preparing a non-identifying report showing placements, per-pupil tuition and transportation costs by placement code to illustrate the district's out-of-district exposure.
Perkins also reviewed student-activity funds and recommended reauthorizing revolving accounts; the committee reauthorized those accounts and approved renaming the Science Olympiad student-activity account as "Robotics Club." Perkins said the district will continue efforts to contact class officers so legacy class funds can be directed to graduating classes or returned to student use.
