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Committee hears state aid, federal grant awards and budget outlook ahead of school year
Summary
Superintendent reported a modest increase in Chapter 70 aid, federal grant allocations including IDEA and Title funds, a supplemental DESE payment that may be carried forward, and work with the Department of Revenue on certification and borrowing plans.
The superintendent told the School Committee the district will receive roughly $144,450 in additional Chapter 70 aid after a $150-per-student increase and outlined recent federal grant awards and state funding developments. The presentation came during the administrative reports as the committee prepared budgets and borrowing for upcoming capital work.
The superintendent said the district received a range of federal and state allocations, including Title I, Title II, Title III and Title IV funds, an IDEA allocation, and a DESE supplemental circuit breaker payment that the district is planning to carry forward rather than use in the coming fiscal year. He also reported work with the Department of Revenue on certifying the district's Excess and Deficiency (E&D) account and said he expects certification around mid-week.
"I wanna thank Cheryl for all of her hard work on getting the student opportunity act grant again," the superintendent said, noting the district applied for $150,000 and was awarded $100,000. He listed other figures in the meeting: Title I "a little bit more than 67,000," Title II about "a little bit more than 28,000," Title III about "10,000," Title IV "10,000," and an IDEA allocation of "$545,006.93" plus a second related grant of about "$22,000." The superintendent cautioned that some grant and federal allocations can change and that DESE guidance will affect how certain funds are recorded.
The superintendent also said the district received notice of a Green Communities energy-management grant and an estimated savings of $124,715 tied to building management system work. On transportation and charter reimbursement numbers he described some year-to-year adjustments and said overall state aid rose by about $150,000 compared with the prior year.
On longer-term finances, the superintendent said he has been working with financial advisers and bond counsel ahead of planned borrowing for capital projects and has a meeting scheduled with S&P to update the district—s credit rating. He told the committee a borrowing authorization is expected on an upcoming agenda and said the district will set up a separate account for project funds.
No vote was taken on budget strategy at Tuesday's meeting; the superintendent said the district is working to avoid an override next year and will bring borrowing items and final figures to the committee for future action.
