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School finance update: new grants, adequacy shortfall and transportation pressures
Summary
Administration reported $782,894 in net grant activity with some federal titles reduced, flagged a $554,000 adequacy shortfall and proposed partial offsets, and delivered a transportation report showing driver shortages, a 55‑vehicle fleet (2 wheelchair buses), and extensive reliance on contracted providers for high‑cost specialized routes.
The committee received three linked fiscal items: grant and donation updates, a fiscal‑year close financial review and a transportation staffing and cost briefing.
Polly, the district grants coordinator, reported new allocations and net grant changes with a total net impact of $782,894: Title II (professional development) increased by about $66,000 to $1,289,000; Title III (English learners) decreased by $55,200 to $334,793; Title IV decreased by $62,856 to $1,066,000; adult diploma funding fell by roughly $43,000 to $14,646. Donations included a $7,000 book donation to the bookmobile and a roughly $13,000 gift from SNHU for McLaughlin Middle School materials. Committee members noted a roughly $94,950 reduction across several federal titles and asked administration to monitor program impacts.
Finance staff then summarized fiscal‑year 2025 close figures: total expenditures exceeded the adopted budget by about $6,000,000 to be covered by the expendable trust, driven primarily by specialized transportation and health insurance overages; grants for FY25 totaled roughly $42.4 million (including ESSER funds used earlier in the year); and the expendable trust balance and anticipated draws were reviewed. The state’s final adequacy number came in about $554,000 below the November estimate. Administration proposed offsets (raising Medicaid revenue estimates, applying $162,000 of fund balance and modest interest increases) to cover part of the gap and said it would present the remaining options in the MS‑24 report next month.
Transportation staff read a scripted update: the district lists 55 vehicles (53 standard buses and 2 wheelchair‑accessible) but has fewer drivers than the 54 positions budgeted, and relies heavily on contracted providers for specialized transportation. Administration gave provider rates and utilization examples: Newcomb's quoted daily rates of $525 per bus or $645 with a monitor; some out‑of‑district runs cost $600–$900 per day; several contracted providers operate dozens of buses for specialized routes. The start of the school year saw initial routing delays tied to driver shortages, late registrations and incomplete IEP documentation; administration said arrival times improved over the first days and that negotiations with vendors about rates and cost‑sharing are underway.
