Board approves $350,000 budget transfer to pupil services to improve Medicaid reporting

The Cromwell Board of Education approved a $350,000 budget transfer on Oct. 7 to reclassify expenditures from the tuition line to the pupil services line, a move administrators said will streamline tracking for out-of-district placements and improve Medicaid cost reporting.

Director of Finance Chris Butwell told the board that the transfer does not add new funds but places existing budgeted dollars in the correct line to allow the district to capture more Medicaid-reimbursable services in future filings. "This money has already been budgeted but we just want to make it right and put it in the appropriate budget line," Butwell said.

Board members heard from the district’s special education and Medicaid staff that budgeting services under pupil services rather than tuition will allow the district to include related service expenditures in EFS/MEDICAID cost reports. Butwell said he had consulted Kathy Blackwood, the district’s Medicaid specialist, who confirmed the reclassification would be beneficial but could not provide an immediate dollar estimate for how much it would increase reimbursements.

The motion — described in the meeting packet as a transfer of $350,000 from tuition to pupil services — was moved, seconded and recorded as approved in open session.

Administrators said the change should result in greater Medicaid revenue capture in future reporting cycles; they did not present an upfront projected reimbursement total. The district will record the transfer in its accounting system and reflect the reclassification in the end-of-year EFS report.