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Board hears special-education budget strain; administration moves $555,702 into clinical-cost account
Summary
District finance staff told the Stratford Board of Education the special-education clinical-cost account is under pressure and the board approved a $555,702 transfer from salary accounts to clinical costs to partially offset an estimated deficit.
Finance staff told the Stratford Board of Education on March 24 that the district is facing continuing pressure in special-education costs and has taken an initial budget transfer to reduce that shortfall.
"At this point, we're still estimating that our deficit could be, even over $1,000,000," the district finance official said while presenting the monthly financial report for February. The report identified higher-than-expected costs in out-of-district placements and in-district clinical services as the primary drivers of the deficit.
The board approved a transfer of $555,702 from unfilled salary accounts (object 111) into the clinical-cost account (object 300). In committee discussion and during the meeting the administration noted that the clinical-cost account was shown in the materials as about $2,600,000; the transfer is intended to partially offset those expenses while the district pursues excess-cost reimbursement from the state.
Acting Superintendent Heather Borges confirmed the high-cost students are the source of the excess costs and said the town has been informed of the situation. "Because we budgeted gross and we ended up with a deficit, the town didn't necessarily count on giving us that excess cost to cover it," she said. Ongoing salary savings from vacancies were also listed as a mitigation strategy.
The finance official said staff will continue daily monitoring of encumbrances and will update the board monthly. The board directed administration to process the approved transfer and to keep the council and public informed of any material changes.
Clarifying details and next steps - District packet and meeting comments referenced a clinical-cost line of approximately $2,600,000 and an estimated special-education deficit in the range of $1,000,000 to $1,200,000; both figures were described as estimates and subject to change. - The administration said the state’s "excess cost" reimbursement process may recoup some outlays, but timing and amount are not guaranteed. - The finance office was assigned to process the journal transfers, tighten encumbrances and present monthly updates to the board.
Why it matters: Special-education expenditures are a major driver of district budgets; pending reimbursements and monthly monitoring will determine whether further transfers or town-level mitigation are required.
