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Quabbin committee approves FY27 budget iteration, transfers and use of reserves to lower town assessments
Summary
The school committee approved the FY27 operating budget iteration ($42,545,128.53), a $251,290 intra-budget transfer for transportation and special-education hardware, and the planned use of $760,000 from reserves (END) plus $82,780 in regional transportation reimbursements to reduce member-town assessments.
The Quabbin Regional School Committee voted April 16 to approve iteration three of the FY27 operating budget and several related budget actions intended to limit assessment increases for member towns.
Budget subcommittee chair members presented the FY27 total of $42,545,128.53, which the packet described as a 4.23% increase over the prior year and a net reduction of $225,786.47 compared with an earlier draft. The committee also approved a budget transfer that moves $251,290 within transportation codes and allocates $5,940.67 to special-education hardware and software.
To directly reduce assessments billed to member towns, the committee approved using $760,000 from certified excess and deficiency (END) and $82,780 from the FY regional transportation reimbursement fund as revenue sources for FY27. Committee members discussed the remaining END balance (estimates reported during discussion placed the balance in the mid-six-figure range after the action) and cautioned that reserve use reduces year-to-year cushion.
All motions (the transfer, approval of the FY27 iteration, and the reserve-utilization motion) passed on roll-call votes with unanimous support from members present.
What this means: Approving the budget iteration and these revenue actions sets the district’s FY27 spending plan and reduces assessment pressure on the five member towns, but uses of END and one-time reimbursements are reductions to one-time reserves rather than recurring revenue.
Next steps: Administration will continue to monitor state revenue developments and report back to the committee if there are changes that require committee action; the business office will finalize warrants and follow up on procurement items discussed during director reports.
