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Middletown board reviews unexpected $394,334 Beeman Middle School electricity bill, eyes city reimbursement
Summary
District staff told the board an Eversource billing error generated a $394,334 charge for Beeman Middle School covering the most recent 12 months; the board discussed a proposed three-year repayment plan, a roughly $199,000 near-term budget impact and a request to the city for reimbursement.
District finance staff reported an unanticipated Eversource electricity bill of $394,334 tied to Beeman Middle School for the most recent 12-month billing period. The board was told the charge resulted from a meter/account transfer error after the Beeman facility was built and moved into operation, and state law limits back-billing to the most recent 12 months.
Natalie explained that, absent the statutory billing limit, the district could have faced an estimated $1.75 million liability for earlier years. The finance office recommended a three-year repayment approach for the $394,334 balance that would draw $115,055 from the district's 2024—25 unexpended balance in year one and split the remaining requested reimbursement from the city over years two and three.
Natalie said the district has asked the city for reimbursement of approximately $279,000 the district paid on bills that were actually for the city's Park and Rec Center and not the school. She also said the board projects an additional $199,000 for January—June 2026 electricity consumption that must be added to the current year's budget and that the district would need to revise the Beeman electricity line to about $399,841 for next year to reflect actual costs.
Board members asked whether an energy audit had been completed during Beeman's construction and whether the city would agree to reimburse payments. Staff said the city is investigating and that corrected billing will move the Park & Rec Center charges to the city's account while Beeman will be billed directly to the Board of Education going forward.
The board deferred detailed action to the Finance Committee but approved the unexpended balance report that provides year-one funds that the finance office proposed applying to the repayment plan.
