At the Oct. 21 meeting, Superintendent Dr. Cummings and staff presented a detailed overview of the district’s operational budget and federal entitlement grants, and the School Committee voted to approve the grants as allocated by administration.

Dr. Cummings outlined differences between the operational budget (Chapter 70 and local contributions), which follows the fiscal year (July 1–June 30), and entitlement grants administered through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) via the GEMS system. He said entitlement grants total “somewhere between 800 and a million dollars” in a typical year and described typical spending categories: roughly 55% on salaries, about 30–32% on special-education transportation, and about 13% on other materials and supplies.

The presentation emphasized how entitlement grants are allocated and spent over an overlapping timeline. Staff explained allocations are announced in late spring, plans are due in August with revisions in September, and DESE typically issues a final approval (the green light) around October; districts then spend over the current and sometimes the following fiscal year. Dr. Cummings gave a concrete example used in the presentation: IDEA-funded summer special-education transportation costs (for ESY and private transportation) can create carryover amounts carried into the next year.

Committee members asked about carryover from FY25; Dr. Cummings said he could check the precise amount but estimated it would be “probably under $10,000.” He also noted staff who lead these processes, citing Jen Mannion (entitlement work) and Nicole McDonald (IDEA-related work).

After the discussion the committee moved, seconded and voted to approve “the grants as allocated by Dr. Cummings.” The meeting record does not show a formal roll-call tally in the transcript; the motion was announced as carrying.

The presentation also touched on other grant types and fiscal planning: multi-year competitive grants such as Project Lead The Way often provide start-up funding for a limited term and can require the district to absorb ongoing costs later; the committee and staff said they monitor such obligations when deciding whether to accept grants. Staff said they will alert the committee about incoming grants going forward and work with municipal forecasting efforts for a consolidated five-year forecast.

No additional formal actions were taken beyond the committee vote to accept the entitlement grant allocations.