Finance committee moves to forward up to $500,000 of Stratford School District FY24 carryover to cover FY25 operating shortfall

The Stratford School District Finance Committee voted to forward to the Board of Education a proposal to use up to $500,000 of the district's $1,000,000 fiscal year 2024 carryover to address a projected fiscal year 2025 operating deficit, the committee said at its meeting.

The request comes after district staff reported a projected deficit that they said was driven largely by special education expenses. Pam Mangini, finance staff, told the committee that special-education-related costs had at one point been projected to exceed $3,000,000 and that staff had worked to mitigate the shortfall across several funding “buckets,” including an Alliance grant and a $1,000,000 carryover set aside last year. Mangini said the district sought permission to reprogram some of those funds and asked the committee to allow up to $500,000 to be applied to…