Speaker 9, the district finance presenter, told the Farmington School Board on Dec. 1 that the district’s primary operating account (Fund 10) could end the year with a negative balance if current spending and outstanding bills continue.

Board members and staff discussed grant accounting, timing mismatches in Infinite Visions, and encumbrances that currently make some lines appear stronger than they are. “If we were to carry forward with what we have, we do have a negative balance,” Speaker 9 said, noting that a separate forthcoming school-care bill is not yet reflected in the projection and would add to the shortfall.

Why it matters: Fund 10 is the district’s main operating fund. A sustained negative Fund 10 balance would force the board to choose between spending cuts, using one-time grant or reserve money where legally permitted, or proposing a warrant article to the town. Board members pressed staff for clearer line-item breakdowns and asked for a follow-up workshop to finalize numbers.

Key details and next steps: Board members noted several staffing and service items that affect the budget: the school psychologist role had been funded through ESSER and is not currently included in Fund 10, requiring a warrant article to restore it; the district is evaluating whether to budget for an in-house BCBA and Registered Behavioral Technicians (RBTs) to reduce costly out-of-district placements; and staff asked for updated insurance-enrollment counts so models can be finalized. Speaker 9 said the SAU/health insurance model decisions directly affect the budget and requested a breakdown of how many employees are in single, two-person and family plans before the next workshop.

The board set a short-term schedule to continue budget work at an upcoming workshop and to present clearer spreadsheets and scenario modeling to the public when numbers are finalized.