Beverly schools shift $628,693 in strike-related funds, approve utility and after‑dark transfers

The Beverly School Committee on March 26 approved three budget transfers that school finance staff said will cover strike‑related costs, address utility shortfalls and keep an after‑school vocational program running after expected grant funding did not come through.

School Business Administrator Emma Pugliese told the committee the largest transfer — numbered 953 — reallocates a city free‑cash appropriation that the City Council approved March 17 to cover costs tied to the teacher strike last fall, including police details, legal fees and certain payroll lines. "The total for the entire transfer in is $628,693," Pugliese said. She added roughly $320,000 was transferred out of a city‑deposited strike‑costs line into the specific lines where the expenses were recorded, with the remainder left in the strike line for year‑end reporting.

Pugliese said the money originally posted to a strike costs account will remain visible for state reporting purposes while payroll and overtime costs are transferred to the corresponding general ledger lines. The committee voted to approve transfer 953; the motion passed unanimously.

The board also approved transfer 968, a smaller reallocation aimed at covering utility expense increases at the middle school. Pugliese said the district has exhausted prior solar‑credit carryforwards at that site and is moving budgeted funds into the middle‑school utility accounts as available. The committee discussed bringing the city finance director into a June meeting to explain the municipal solar‑credit “pool” and how credits are allocated across buildings. Transfer 968 passed unanimously.

Transfer 998 moved money into a line supporting an after‑school vocational pathway run in partnership with Salem and Essex Technical High School after the district learned that a foundation grant intended for a second year of implementation would not be renewed. Pugliese said the district used remaining funds in an unemployment compensation line — which had been lower than anticipated owing to staff re‑employment — to cover immediate bills for the program and to preserve spots for students. Committee members noted that, as a minimum‑aid district under the Massachusetts foundation formula, Beverly only receives about a 21 percent per‑pupil reimbursement for related state funding, requiring a larger local appropriation.

Committee members asked how much was moved into the after‑school line; Pugliese said the transfer added roughly $155,000 and that the program budgetary pot is now about $313,500, covering tuition and contracted transportation for students who attend Salem and Essex Tech. The motion to approve transfer 998 passed unanimously.

All three motions were moved and seconded at the meeting and passed by recorded voice votes at the committee’s March 26 session.