Nantucket Community School seeks $150,000 from town as program revenues and reserves tighten

Nantucket Community School leaders met with town representatives to explain a projected $150,000 shortfall in the community‑school budget and to request additional support from the town. School staff said the revolving fund balance has fallen to roughly $6,000 while the overall community‑school operation runs about $1.2 million in program revenue annually, supplemented by a $600,000 town appropriation.

Why this matters: school leaders said staffing and benefits now consume the majority of the program’s operating dollars. The community school reported 14 year‑round, benefit‑eligible full‑time employees; staff estimated payroll at about $1.4 million and medical insurance at roughly $287,000 in current year estimates. With limited fund balance left, officials said they may be unable to give raises or sustain current program levels without additional town assistance or higher earned revenues.

School officials told the meeting that the community school is organized as a town department and is not a 501(c)(3), which constrains the ways it can solicit private donations. Instead, staff rely on grants and designated gifts that are managed in revolving accounts. Town staff cautioned that the school’s consolidation of prior “gift” accounts into the revolving accounts has temporarily increased reported revenues year‑to‑date, complicating year‑over‑year comparisons.

The community school operates roughly 80 programs (not including facility services such as the test center) and runs the town’s year‑round pool; staff said the pool’s annual expense this year is about $422,000 and that the pool generates substantial programming revenue. Program leaders emphasized tradeoffs between keeping fees affordable for year‑round families and raising prices to close budget gaps; staff reported distributing $20,000 in financial aid this year through a grant to maintain access for lower‑income residents.

Officials asked the town for a one‑time or ongoing funding solution and requested flexibility for teacher step/column moves tied to contracts; school leaders said adding roughly $75,000 for step/column changes would address a portion of personnel cost pressures for the next fiscal year. Town and school staff agreed the school would send a five‑year breakdown of revenues, expenses and year‑end fund balances to meeting participants so the select board and town finance staff can evaluate the request ahead of the select board’s upcoming budget hearing.

What happens next: school staff agreed to provide charts and a clean five‑year revenue/expense breakdown; both sides planned to attend the select board budget hearing this week to answer questions. No formal vote or appropriation was taken at the meeting.