Consultants and staff report FY25 near-balance after grant reclassifications

Open Architect consultants and Town of Uxbridge finance staff told the school committee on June 24 that after reclassifying grant funds and closing purchase orders, the district's fiscal year 2025 close is projected to be essentially balanced.

Jen (Open Architect) and finance staff detailed reclassifications to revolving-account offsets, including a circuit-breaker reclassification of $2,007,000 (down from an earlier $2,055,000 projection). Jen said some grant timing and encumbrance adjustments freed funds that reduced the district's use of offsets; "We were able to have more flexibility with that, but that was because the ESSER money gave us more flexibility," a staff member said.

Committee members pressed for clarity on where an approximately $400,000 favorable variance originated. Members and staff discussed three likely contributors: (1) conservative spending during the year, (2) timing and use of ESSER and other grants, and (3) coding and optimization work by Open Architect and finance staff. Finance staff agreed to produce a FY25 retrospective and a crosswalk tracing the major variances and grant allocations.

The presentation also reviewed the use of revolving accounts (school athletics, daycare, school choice) and noted a mix of multi-year grant carryforwards and short-term encumbrances that affect how much money is available to cover out-of-district placements and transportation.

Committee members requested a public workshop or presentation with Open Architect to walk through grant accounting and the FY25 crosswalk before the FY26 budget cycle. The committee and consultants agreed to follow up and provide the requested documentation.