Advisory committee presses for clearer tracking of grant-funded positions

Members of the North Kingstown Budget and Finance Advisory Committee pressed administration Dec. 1 to present staffing and grants information in a way that makes dependency on grant funding clear.

Robert Jones recommended resurrecting a simple "2 by 2" matrix that shows whether positions are grant-funded or general-funded and whether they are benefits-eligible FTEs. "That was a very useful little tracking metric to see over time," Jones said, arguing it would answer whether grant-funded positions have increased or decreased and in what areas.

Leslie O'Fallon, Director of Finance, said the administration does track grant-funded versus general-funded positions in presentations and noted many grant-funded positions are linked to IDEA and Title I. She cautioned that some grants carry strict rules about allowable uses and that swapping or reassigning positions can be limited by grant terms.

Members described a preferred staffing display: list each position, show operating and grant columns, and annotate how many years a role has been grant-funded so that the school committee can see the true staffing picture. "When the grant ones are over here... but when they're all listed as part of the staffing, you can see that that body exists and where the funds is coming from," one member said.

The committee asked administration to explore whether it is feasible to add grant columns and position-level tracking to the budget presentation and to return with options as the budget process advances. No formal policy or staffing change was approved at the meeting.