North Middlesex finance committee reviews FY25 closeout, FY26 outlook; school choice, circuit breaker and delayed capital projects highlighted

The North Middlesex Regional School District Finance Committee reviewed the district’s FY25 closeout and early FY26 budget performance on Oct. 2, focusing on a returned health-trust payment, use of the school-choice revolving fund, special-education reimbursements, transportation and postponed capital and technology projects.

District finance staff said the district initially paid roughly $1 million in FY24 toward potential run-out claims when a regional health trust disbanded; about $536,000 of the sum was later returned to the school-choice revolving fund and roughly $500,000 was recorded as unanticipated revenue in the general fund. "We paid that out of two places — school choice revolving and the general fund — about half from both locations," Nancy, a district staff member, said. She said auditors and state guidance allowed returning funds to school choice when the trust returned money to members.

Why it matters: the committee is weighing how one-time returns and new supplemental state aid affect future budgets and town assessments. Committee members pressed staff for clarifications about restrictions on those funds and about how much…