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Brockton schools report $29.2 million in grants; dashboard launched to give committee real‑time budget access
Summary
The district’s grants office reported $29.2 million secured for the fiscal year and described procurement and spending controls. A consultant demonstrated a new budget dashboard that pulls daily Munis data for committee oversight; the committee agreed to provide members access.
The Brockton Public Schools grants office reported on March 18 that it has secured $29,200,000 in grant funding for the current fiscal year and is pushing to ensure timely spending and compliance as the year closes. The district also showed a new, interactive budget dashboard that pulls daily data from the city’s Munis system and will be made available to school committee members for oversight.
Why it matters: Grants are a major source of funding for literacy, special education, career and technical education and student supports in Brockton. A real‑time budget dashboard gives the committee and public a tool to track spending, encumbrances and remaining balances while the district spends down grants.
Cam Jackson, director of the grants office, told the committee the office has focused on on‑site visits with grant facilitators, training on the new procurement process and biweekly budget checks for facilitators as the fiscal year ends. Jackson listed grant‑funded programs across the district — literacy, early college pathways, social and emotional supports, arts and nutrition efforts — and highlighted smaller, named grants that have produced visible school programs, including a Mass Cultural Council award for school arts projects and local school library purchases.
Jackson described procurement controls: purchases over $10,000 require vendor quotations, contracts over $10,000 require signature, and purchase orders must be issued before orders are placed. She said the grants office is meeting with state and federal liaisons to monitor potential funding risks and will update the committee as information becomes available.
TJ Plant of Open Architects demonstrated an interactive budget dashboard built from Munis data that allows committee members to drill into budgets by school, department, personnel costs and specific line items. Plant showed how the tool can filter net school spending and non‑net spending, display encumbrances, and quantify transportation and utilities costs. Plant said the dashboard can be configured for individual user accounts and that the district will provide login access to committee members.
Committee members asked whether recent changes in state or federal administration would affect grant availability; Jackson said she had no confirmed losses to date and was meeting with state and federal agencies to confirm status. Several members praised the grants office for improvement since prior years when unspent funds required returns.
Ending: The committee voted in the meeting’s consent agenda to accept specific grant awards included in the packet; district staff said they will distribute dashboard logins and continue regular updates on grant status and spending.
