The Southington School District Board of Education was told at its meeting that the town will receive an additional hold-harmless payment to its education cost sharing aid and that the district also qualified for two new state grant programs.

At the meeting staff reported the district will receive an additional $256,195 in education cost share dollars that was not included in the budget projections, and said the board will need to work with the Board of Finance and Town Council to appropriate those funds because, as staff put it, “education cost share dollars … legally … have to come to the board of education.”

The administrator also described a newly created Special Education Expansion and Development grant (referred to in the meeting as the “C grant”), for which the district will receive $231,664. The administrator emphasized the grant must be used to “expand or develop a program that does not exist” and may not be used to supplant existing services. The district was warned that improper use could trigger a penalty that would reduce future education cost share payments.

A third new state program — the District Repair and Improvement Program (DRIP) — was described as funding for large, hard-to-budget capital costs such as boilers or classroom renovations. The administrator said details on the district’s expected DRIP allocation were not yet available.

Board members asked procedural questions about how the funds would be handled; staff said they will return with appropriation recommendations and clarifications about allowable uses. No formal vote or appropriation occurred at the meeting.

Why this matters: the hold-harmless payment increases the district’s available state education funds for this fiscal year, but staff cautioned that the C grant carries strict restrictions and that DRIP details are pending. The board will need to decide how to allocate and report the additional cost-share dollars and how to apply the C grant in ways that meet state rules.

Staff noted the district would publicly schedule and participate in upcoming town and council hearings this summer related to other capital work: planning- and finance-related meetings were listed as July and August dates for public hearings tied to an upcoming roof referendum.

The administrator who reported these items also thanked town staff for work on related federal regulatory issues and noted other state and federal programs that could affect capital planning.