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Selectmen say school payment figures show $125,000 discrepancy; board will await corrected February payout
Summary
Staff told the Board of Selectmen that a $3,304,243 figure from the prior year was mistakenly placed in the 2025 budget, producing an apparent $125,000 overpayment; the town will wait for an adjusted February school payment before remitting funds.
Staff member said the town discovered a budgeting discrepancy related to school payments and presented detailed figures to the Board of Selectmen on Feb. 3. "$3,304,243 was what the town spent in total for the school the year before," the staff member said, and that number had incorrectly been reflected in the 2025 budgetary line. The staff member said the Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) shows the town's commitment for 2025–26 as $3,646,584 and that after adjustments the town was about $125,000 ahead of the DRA-reported commitment.
The board asked how the error occurred; the staff member explained the town runs on a calendar year while the school runs on a fiscal year, creating complexity when staff reconcile the two schedules. "When the tax rate's set, the school gets notified. They go ahead and then adjust the payments accordingly," the staff member said, describing the routine reconciliation that follows the DRA final schedule.
To correct the apparent overpayment, staff said the school and SAU office will deduct the corrected amount from the February payment. "Kathy in the SAU office will be sending me an amount for February, which we will wait for before we pay out to the school," the staff member said. The board agreed to delay remitting the disputed portion until the adjusted February figure is received and documented.
The selectmen also confirmed that the town did not overspend its operating budget; a committee member reported the town spent roughly 94.11% of the operating budget, leaving about $140,654.97 unspent. Members said they will share updated figures with the budget committee once the SAU provides the revised payment schedule.
The board did not take any formal fiscal action at the meeting beyond agreeing to await the SAU's corrected February payment and to share updates with the budget committee. Staff said they will continue follow-up with the school and provide the board with updated payment schedules when available.
