School committee votes to carry $4.27 million in encumbrances into fiscal 2026

Superintendent Erin (last name not specified in transcript) told the Pembroke School Committee on Aug. 5 that the district’s fiscal year 2025 budget was $38,580,000 and that as of June 30 the district had spent $34,308,846.21, leaving a balance of just over $4.2 million.

"As of June 30, we had spent $34,308,846.21," the superintendent said, and urged the committee to vote to carry encumbrances forward. She said about $2.4 million of the balance represented summer payrolls and approximately $1.8 million represented open purchase orders that will move into FY26, including prepaid special‑education tuitions and technology and curriculum materials that were ordered but not yet delivered.

The committee voted to carry encumbrances totaling $4,271,153.79 into fiscal 2026. Motion and second were made and the vote was unanimous.

The superintendent also noted that recent unspent purchase orders that are more than two years old will return to the town as free cash; the meeting packet listed $36,589.10 of such amounts. She recommended transferring the remaining FY25 balance into the district’s special education stabilization fund rather than returning it to the town general fund.

Why it matters: carrying forward encumbrances preserves funds already committed for payroll, tuitions and ordered materials and shifts decision‑making about discretionary balances into a stabilization fund intended to smooth special‑education costs.

Committee members were invited to review line‑by‑line details in the spreadsheets distributed with the meeting materials and to contact the superintendent with follow‑up questions.