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Revere committee flags rising health insurance, special-education costs as budget season opens
Summary
At a March 18 Committee of the Whole meeting, district officials said the first draft of the Revere schools budget includes a substantial increase in employee health insurance costs and highlighted special-education spending as an area of concern. A Ways & Means review is scheduled next week to examine the draft.
The Revere Public Schools Committee of the Whole on March 18 heard that the first draft of the district’s budget includes a substantial increase in employee health insurance costs and that special-education spending remains a pressure point.
Administrators told the committee the draft budget the district will present to the city includes a higher estimated cost for active employee health insurance and that the end of one-time federal funds will push up net local costs. Administration staff said a 19% increase was used in budgeting for current employee health insurance for the coming year.
The committee was told the district had used every available source — including ESSER funds and other exceptional one-time funding — in recent years to hold down health-insurance costs. With those funds expiring and insurance rates rising, officials said the district will need to revisit where the money will come from.
District staff also flagged special-education spending as running higher than expected this year. Officials said special-education costs, together with rising insurance rates, are the two principal areas the district expects will drive budget conversations in the coming weeks.
Members were told a draft of the district’s Schedule 19 agreement with the city will be included in the next packet and that the Ways & Means committee will meet next week to take a first look at the budget. Committee leaders said they will consider the district’s multi-year projections rather than focusing on a single fiscal year because state accounting changes could shift carry-forward figures between years.
The administration noted the district maintains a financial reserve and said roughly $10,000,000 is available should the committee and city choose to use some of it; officials did not specify how much of that reserve, if any, would be used for the coming year.
No votes were taken on budget decisions at the Committee of the Whole meeting. Committee members directed that Ways & Means receive the draft and begin a deeper review next week, with a fuller budget conversation to follow in April.
