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Select Board approves memorandum of understanding with schools to bolster financial transparency after audit
Summary
The Select Board voted to approve an MOU with the public schools aimed at improving financial policies and information-sharing after earlier findings in a CliftonLarsonAllen review; board members said the agreement is a first step toward longer-term partnership reforms.
The Select Board voted on Oct. 21 to approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Town of Brookline and the Brookline Public Schools that sets out financial practices and increased information sharing in the wake of a CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) audit earlier this year.
Town staff described the MOU as the product of negotiated changes to ensure clearer timelines for sharing five-year forecasts, revised procurement practices, and improved reporting linked to the school office of student services. Select Board Chair Bernard Green said the MOU’s aim was to “restore confidence” after the year’s budget shortfall and to institutionalize improved practices rather than to punish staff.
The schools’ fiscal shortfall in spring 2025 — initially described as an $8.2 million variance between the projected and allotted FY26 amounts and earlier concerns about a current-year gap — prompted the CLA review and subsequent work by school leadership and town officials. Select Board members praised school administrators and said the MOU is intended to be forward-looking. “We only thrive when the schools thrive,” Green said.
The MOU includes a sunset clause through September 2026; board members discussed whether some provisions (for example, timelines for forecasts and certain procurement controls) should be continued beyond the sunset and asked staff to pursue follow-on work with the Town School Partnership to create a longer-term agreement. The board voted to approve the MOU while directing staff to negotiate a side letter or successor arrangement to address ongoing items.
The motion passed on a roll call: John Van Schaoyek, Paul Warren, David Perlman and Michael Rubinstein voted aye; Chair Bernard Green cast the final aye.
Ending: The MOU is now approved; staff will pursue a follow-up process through the Town School Partnership to memorialize longer-term shared practices and report back to the board.
