Finance update: district to receive about half of expected extraordinary relief, potentially tapping reserves

At the May 20 meeting, Mr. Shea reported the district will receive about half of the extraordinary relief (commonly called the circuit breaker) funding he had projected for fiscal year 2025, creating a roughly $300,000 shortfall against earlier estimates.

"So that's about $300,000, decrease," Mr. Shea said, explaining that the statewide number of applications exceeded available funding and reduced each district’s share. He told the committee he had projected roughly $600,000 but now expects about half that amount.

Mr. Shea said the district holds about $260,000 in a special education reserve fund and that he will update his analysis at the next meeting. "If needed, I will be asking you to vote that we utilize our Transfer. Reserve fund to cover the, difference in the, discrepancy in what I had projected," he told the committee, and added that using the special-education reserve requires both a school committee vote and a select board vote.

The committee discussed other potential sources and Mr. Shea noted the district’s school choice account contains funds; the FY26 budget includes $250,000 from school choice and the account holds roughly $500,000 in total, but those funds are subject to restrictions on allowable uses.

The committee scheduled further analysis for its next meeting and flagged a possible request to authorize transfers if the updated projections confirm the shortfall.