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Portsmouth reports small unaudited surplus; unexpected revenue and higher transportation, electricity costs noted
Summary
The Portsmouth School Department reported an unaudited fiscal-year 2025 surplus of $305,000, driven by unexpected revenues including a $250,000 distribution from the East Bay Education Collaborative liquidation and $204,000 in group-home funding; transportation and electricity overruns were cited as primary expenditure pressures.
The Portsmouth School Department ended fiscal year 2025 with an unaudited net surplus of $305,000, or about 0.68% of budget, the committee was told Sept. 23.
Mister Giro, the department’s finance staff, told the school committee the surplus was driven by favorable revenue receipts totaling about $461,000 and offset by an expenditure overage of approximately $156,000. He identified two unbudgeted, one-time revenue items: a $250,000 equity distribution tied to the liquidation of the East Bay Education Collaborative and about $204,000 in additional group-home funding after the state adjusted bed counts.
On the expenditure side, Giro said transportation and electricity were the main pressures. Transportation was significantly over budget in part because of an unbudgeted $55,000 cost to transport a single out-of-district student to a Tiverton CTE program and more than $100,000 in costs after the district brought its life-skills program back in-house following the East Bay Education Collaborative liquidation. Giro said statewide transportation totals were over budget by about $91,000.
Giro also described notable electricity-cost issues: a 255% increase in Rhode Island Energy’s distribution charge per kilowatt hour that has raised distribution costs above supply costs; a 55% increase in energy usage at Melville after installation of a new HVAC heat-pump system; and invoicing inaccuracies from the utility. He told the committee that the district had gone months without accurate bills for some accounts and cited an example of a single-month invoice for Melville that initially read about $900,000 and was later identified as erroneous. Giro said Rhode Island conducted a separate audit finding about $2 million in overcharges statewide.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about specific line items, including the transportation line and electricity accounts. Giro said the contract with First Student for district busing ends at the close of the fiscal year and staff have begun an RFP process for the next vendor.
Why it matters: The unaudited surplus reduces short-term budget pressure but the district faces continuing operational cost risk from transportation and utility volatility. The invoicing and distribution-rate issues at the state utility introduce uncertainty for budgeting and cash flow.
Next steps: The external audit is in process and expected before December, Giro said. Staff have started an RFP for the transportation contract and are monitoring Rhode Island Energy’s billing corrections and any further distribution-rate changes.
