Windham Southeast Unified Union School District #9 officials on Nov. 19 presented a first-draft supervisory union (SU) budget and urged caution as federal grant allocations remain uncertain.

Frank Rucker, the SU business manager, and central office staff outlined a roughly $30 million SU budget framework and a schedule of upcoming budget meetings. They said recent timing and regulatory changes delayed Consolidated Federal Programs (CFP) and Title grant releases this year, complicating planning for next year’s revenues and expenditures.

Rucker and central office staff told the board that guidance from the Vermont Agency of Education suggests budgeting at about 80% of current Title I spending; staff estimated that shortfall could total approximately $300,000 to $400,000. They also flagged that Title II, Title III and Title IV allocations remain uncertain and that some previously available competitive grants have become less common at the state level.

To limit disruption to classroom services, the SU proposal shifts some curriculum and assessment functions from grant-supported lines into the local SU budget and retains a reduced number of grant-funded positions (for example, roughly 1.5 SU-based Title I positions). The presentation lists a combined grant-funded subtotal near $2.5 million, and staff emphasized those positions’ high impact on student supports.

Officials also noted that ESSER funding used in recent years produced substantial, one-time investments (FY25 ESSER spending of roughly $639,000 was cited) and that ESSER is not expected to be a revenue source next year; that requires adjustments to FY26 and FY27 planning. Staff described Medicaid reimbursements as a growing and more stable revenue stream, reporting Medicaid revenue increasing from about $200,000 historically to over $500,000 and passing most of those funds through to districts for nursing, counseling and student supports.

Central office staff said they are prepared to use a built Medicaid reserve to temporarily fund essential programs into FY27 if state or federal grants decline, but warned deeper cuts would be required in FY28 if federal Title funding were eliminated. The SU also proposed modest staffing changes aligned with enrollment trends, including a 0.6 FTE reduction in the multilingual learner department tied to projected lower ML enrollment.

The budget presentation included program-by-program detail (Title I schoolwide allocations, McKinney-Vento set-aside, Title II instructional coaching, Title IV well-rounded-education activities and planned technology/server replacements). Staff noted McKinney-Vento transportation and services are a mandated set-aside within Title I and that reductions to those lines would be backfilled locally where necessary.

The supervisory union will continue the review process at scheduled December meetings, when the SU expects updated state yield and average daily membership data that affect district assessments. Officials cautioned that several figures remain provisional until state data and grant appropriations are finalized.