The finance subcommittee approved three grant applications and accepted six charitable gifts for Brookline Public Schools.

Grants: The subcommittee approved a METCO supplemental special-education grant application (FY25) with a requested amount of $132,000 intended to offset paraprofessional salaries associated with METCO students. Staff noted the grant code (318) and that about 102 METCO students received special education services in FY24; staff also warned that the total pool of funds statewide is limited (approximately $300,000 in that bucket), so award amounts could be smaller than requested.

Staff said Boston (the students’ home district for METCO participants) is not billed for these post‑placement special-education costs once students are enrolled in Brookline; the district bears those costs and is therefore applying for the supplemental grant to offset paraprofessional staffing costs.

Two social-studies grants were also approved: a Civic Teaching and Learning grant (approx. $60,000) to support curriculum work and explore a districtwide Civic Action Project showcase, and a Genocide Education grant (approx. $70,000) for related curriculum support. Greg Porter, the district K–12 coordinator for social studies, described the Civic Action Project as a set of school‑based civic projects and said a statewide showcase run by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Generation Citizen provides an ongoing option if a district showcase is not fiscally sustainable.

Gifts: The subcommittee accepted six donor gifts: items and program support from HAYS PTO (homework folders), Ruffin Ridley PTO (middle-school Discovering Justice), John McGee (high-school Puerto Rico trip), Sarah Cosa (Career Student Union at the high school), Sarah Egan and George Floyd (Japan exchange program at the high school), and David Boundy (Winthrop House in memory of Jen Polk). The subcommittee thanked donors and unanimously approved acceptance.

Vote: Subcommittee recorded unanimous approval (members present voted yes) for both the grant applications and the acceptance of gifts; staff will complete formal application submissions and donor acceptance follow‑up.