Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Westerly finance board backs manager’s FY25–26 budget; board and council debate school surplus and enrollment decline
Summary
The Westerly Finance Board recommended the town and school budgets as presented, prompting council discussion about the school’s reported surplus, enrollment declines and long-term capital needs; the council formally received the finance board’s recommendations.
The Westerly Finance Board presented its recommendation on the town and school operating budgets during the April 7 council meeting and the council voted to receive the board’s recommendation.
Steven Leonard, chair of the Finance Board, told councilors the board “recommend[ed] the budgets as presented” and summarized the panel’s rationale in a written letter. Leonard said the board considered the school’s unassigned fund balance and ongoing federal funding streams when reviewing the proposed school appropriation. He described the school’s current unassigned fund balance as “approximately $2,300,000” after assignments and estimated it could grow to “approximately 3 to 3.5 million dollars” by fiscal year end, depending on revenues and expenses.
Councilors pressed the board on how the school’s reported surplus intersects with recurring costs. Several councilors raised concerns that repeated “level funding” combined with multi-year surpluses could lead to questions about the town’s funding priorities. Councilor Van Dover said she did not understand why per-student costs remain high where enrollment has fallen; the board’s chair pointed to pandemic-related enrollment declines (noting an audited decrease of about 17% in the assigned peer group and as much as 25% by current counts) and the difficulty schools face in aligning full-time equivalents to changing student headcount.
The Finance Board also highlighted that a significant share of next year’s expected school-budget increases are tied to items “beyond the school’s control,” including health-insurance premium increases and out-of-district tuition costs. Leonard noted the town and school both must follow state maintenance-of-effort rules for capital and urged earlier, more integrated capital-planning work to improve visibility of long-term needs.
Councilors and the finance board discussed the mechanics of surplus assignment and the use of one-time funds for capital projects; Leonard and several councilors agreed the town should aim for earlier and more frequent review of capital needs. The council formally moved to receive the Finance Board’s recommendations as presented; the motion carried without recorded opposition.
