Board of Finance Recommends $350K Appropriation to Cover Board of Education Deficit

A special meeting of the Board of Finance held Tuesday evening heard members formally recommend that the Representative Town Meeting approve an appropriation of $350,000 from the general fund balance to cover a potential deficit in the Board of Education's 2009-2010 budget.

"We wanted to make sure we have some cushion in case things swing the other way, but we think we can come in below," said Board of Education Chair Kim Westcott.

The projected shortfall comes as a result of short funding from the state, mounting legal fees and a number of budgetary challenges that transformed the special education budget by nearly $500,000 in the month of March alone.

Over the course of 30 days, Board of Education Director of Finance Richard Huot faced an unintentional misposting of $191,000 that caused speech pathology account to soar, an employee's return from maternity leave and a $50,000 encumbrance fee.

An approximate $230,000 in stabilization funds and about $156,000 from the town's Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) trust has helped to close the gap, but legal fees from special education lawsuits continue to mount and summer school enrollment is also lagging by about 15 percent.

The Board of Finance recommended that the Board of Education also include in its appropriation request about $40,000 in vacation payout for retirees. According to Board of Finance Chair Murry Steglemann, the payout would otherwise "slip to another year."

"I think its fair to explain to the RTM that while [the Board of Education] was hoping to come in lower, it was the Board of Finance that wanted to make sure these things were covered just in case," said Liz Mao. 

Huot said school administration is "working very hard" to make sure the deficit does not exceed $350,000. In the event the deficit does run over the appropriation, the Board of Finance will dip into the town's $365,000 special education reserve to close the hole. And if less than $350,000 is needed, the Board of Education will refund the balance to the town.

Stegelmann said he would like to see some form of collaborative budget monitoring take place next year between the two boards. Westcott agreed.

The Board of Finance then passed a recommendation to the RTM for the appropriation of $350,000 from the General Fund Balance to cover the Board of Education's anticipated deficit.

The RTM will vote on the appropriation at its Annual Budget Meeting, May 10.