New Haven schools report $4.4 million projected general-fund shortfall as federal grants decline

New Haven School District finance staff told the Finance and Operations Committee on an unspecified date that the district is forecasting a $4.4 million general-fund shortfall for the fiscal year and that multi-year grant funding is falling sharply.

The presentation, delivered by Christina Hannons, summarized monthly and quarterly financial reports. "Our total expenditures for this period are $2,077,000,000," Hannons said, and the general fund has spent 68.22% of its adopted budget year to date. She told the committee the district currently projects a $4.4 million variance for the full year.

Hannons also walked members through the special-funds (grant) picture. She said carryover and declining federal awards have reduced available grant dollars: "We're down about maybe $58,700,000, which is a large drop based on our previous funding years," she said, pointing to the expiration of ARP/ESSER and other one-time funds. Hannons added that some grants run multiple years and urged attention to sustainability when writing new grants: "We make sure that the items that we purchase are sustainable and that we won't need to go back and keep going back for the same items."

Committee members and staff discussed mitigation steps described in the presentation. Hannons said the district has frozen nonessential purchases and is monitoring overtime, substitutes, tuition and transportation lines. She also said the district is negotiating credits and disputing charges where appropriate and is trying to ensure custodial and security costs are built into grants and outside-program agreements so the district is not left covering those expenses alone.

President Yarbrough and other committee members noted the fall-off in grants and urged continued effort to find recurring revenue; Hannons pointed to an expected state allocation increase tied to a House bill (as presented at the meeting) that will be reflected in the next report. Committee members mentioned upcoming advocacy efforts at the state capital to press for more equitable public-education funding.

The district's finance presentation included line-item summaries showing large expenditures in tuition and transportation, continuing efforts to manage utility costs, and a reminder that some grant-supported staff lines represent supplemental services rather than core classroom teacher pay.

The committee did not adopt new budget decisions at this meeting; staff said they will return with updated reports and that grant monitoring and expenditure controls will continue.

The finance presentation concluded with an appeal to the committee for continued scrutiny of expenditures and for grant applications that plan for long-term sustainability.