Granby committee warns FY27 budget depends on town chargebacks and steep health‑insurance increases

The Granby Public Schools School Committee told residents March 24 that the district’s FY27 budget cannot be finalized until the town provides several key figures, most notably the in‑kind chargebacks the town bills back to the schools and updated health‑insurance costs.

In a report to the committee the superintendent described an initial FY27 draft with roughly a 2% increase over FY26 but said the district is waiting for town-supplied line items (administrative services, facilities maintenance and health-insurance chargebacks) before firming scenarios. The superintendent warned that projected health‑insurance growth is "about 50%" in the current calendar year and that lacking the town numbers "that's really limiting our full picture of our budget." The district noted FY26 in‑kind expenses were reported at $2,986,000 and insurance for active and retired employees at $1,165,000.

Members also discussed the federal maintenance‑of‑effort requirement: dropping district spending below the required level could jeopardize hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal special‑education and related funding. To buy time for the town to provide updated figures, the committee moved the public budget forum to March 31 and agreed to present multiple scenarios (including a more constrained option) if the data arrive in time.

Why it matters: Chargebacks and insurance rates materially affect the district’s projected deficits or modest increases; the maintenance‑of‑effort constraint ties some federal funding to minimal local spending levels, which limits cuts without risking grant reductions.

Next steps: Staff will request the town’s updated chargeback and insurance figures, prepare multiple budget scenarios for public presentation at the forum, and report back to the committee before final votes on the FY27 budget.