Swampscott School Committee approves FY25 reconciliations and intra‑district transfers
Summary
The committee heard an FY25 finance report showing near‑full spending, agreed to return roughly $98,881 to the special‑education reserve, and approved several zero‑impact transfers including $121,699 to district‑wide programming and a $479,466 transfer into special education.
School Committee Chair (name not specified) opened the meeting and asked Miss Stella, the committee’s finance and operations lead, to report on the FY25 closeout.
Miss Stella said the district spent 99.7% of its FY25 appropriation. She told the committee that $200,000 in free cash had been set aside for elementary utilities; $4,017 remained unspent and will be returned to town free cash. She said earlier unemployment estimates that had threatened the budget were offset late in the year when some fraudulent unemployment claims were identified and the district received reimbursements, producing an overall positive result.
Miss Stella said the district had requested $83,617 from the special‑education reserve during the year. After closing outstanding purchase orders and accounting for unemployment reimbursements, she reported $98,881 of unspent district dollars that will be returned to the special‑education reserve and then to free cash once the town’s books close.
The report also covered revolving funds and reimbursements: Miss Stella said the Nahant revolving fund produced about $1,800,000 in revenue this year, $1,300,000 of which was spent, leaving a $574,000 balance that the district can draw on for middle‑ and high‑school costs. Out‑of‑district tuition for FY25 totaled about $4,600,000, she said. The district’s circuit breaker award was $2,100,000; expenditures matched that award and left a $450,000 balance, and a supplemental state reimbursement added about $156,000 to circuit‑breaker revenue after the fiscal year closed.
Following the presentation the committee considered a slate of zero‑net‑impact transfers to rebalance cost centers. The Chair read motions to move funds between administrative, general education, school facilities and district‑wide programming lines and to add $121,699 to district‑wide programming. Separate motions transferred $218,189 out of the general‑education line and $278,246 out of school facilities; the committee approved a transfer of $479,466 into special education. Each motion was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously.
On fraud in unemployment claims, Miss Stella explained these were third‑party claims filed during the pandemic era and had resurfaced; the district must document and contest such claims before credits appear on its unemployment bill. She described the process to clear those items and recover funds.
The committee also approved routine finance housekeeping: setting student activity checking limits (elementary $15,000; middle $40,000; high $50,000) and approving a list of student account openings and closures. Chair and members emphasized that revolving funds are not discretionary: they are targeted to offset specific costs and can be consumed quickly by placements, staffing, or large tuition obligations.
What’s next: Miss Stella will track the signed circuit‑breaker threshold agreement and report back; the committee agreed to return the identified unspent FY25 funds to the special‑education reserve as described.
