The School District finished fiscal 2023 with a balanced budget and was able to put funds back into the excess and deficiency account during a year when they were also negotiating teacher contracts, Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said during a budget review at the School Committee’s Wednesday, Dec. 6 meeting.
“We balanced our budget through the [date] breach and we’re able to move forward with kids and FY ’24, which we’re working through with the state,” he said.
During his budget update, Business Manager John Stanbrook reported that interest income received by the district during the first quarter of fiscal 2024 has been much higher than anticipated.
“Things that are interesting, at least worth discussion is interest income – I budgeted $11,330,” he said. “Already, through September, we’ve got $37,000 – that’s about $12,000 a month times 12 [or] $144,000 if that continues.”
Committee member Dawn Byers noted that interest income had been forecasted for about $11,000 last year, but Stanbrook reported that the district had earned $235,000 overall.
“That’s fantastic, getting more than $200,000 more in interest,” she said. “Could we have budgeted more for interest income? … Likewise, when I look at the FY ’23 closeout, what worries me most is our state reimbursement on transportation.”
That account is showing a $366,000 deficit for fiscal 2023 and she is concerned that fiscal 2024 will show a similar deficit when the books are closed.
Szymaniak agreed.
“I would say that, when the business director makes a recommendation on transportation reimbursement, the committee sticks with that recommendation and doesn’t go over, because that’s what happened in the past,” he said.
While Szymaniak has had a conversation with state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and feels the transportation reimbursement should be in a better place at the closeout this year. Cutler said transportation had been level-funded over the last three years, but have increased it in the FY ’24 Governor’s budget for next year.
Szymaniak also said the interest income was unexpected last year.
“When we were budgeting in February, we didn’t have any idea,” he said, noting all the budget documents being reviewed by the committee were done by hand as part of the district’s data recovery following a recent system breach.
“That’s why when we got delayed, [Stanbrook] had to create 211,000 accounts for Munis,” he said. “They’re not a company that’s working with us. We were working with them [but] they’re not necessarily working for us. … I know things have been delayed in the past, but all this information was done by hand. Two years ago, he could push a button and we could get a report.”
Szymaniak said the district is also cutting paper checks.
“We’re almost out of the breach,” he said. “But the breach significantly impacted all of our data and how we present things.”
He asked for a conservative idea on the interest income that the district could realistically expect for the coming budget year, now that the problem has been identified.
“It would impact our budget in a positive way,” he said.
The Committee unanimously voted in support of policy revisions for their meeting norms, which will be printed up and placed in front of each member during meetings as well as at the sign-in table for those wishing to speak during public forum.
Member Glen DiGravio voiced objection to a policy against using cell phones during meetings, noting he uses his smartphone for everything, pushing the laptop issued to the committee aside for emphasis.
“I like this [he closed the laptop and picked up his phone] but this is how I do things,” he said. “This is my Google Drive. This is my everything. I don’t need this [laptop], I bring it because everyone else does.”
He said he also uses his phone to research information brought up in presentations.
“I just Wikipedia’d the Hamilton duel [as Hanson Middle Schoolers performed a re-enactment],” he said. “That’s my phone and [while] I’m not allowed to do that anymore, I’m still going to do it.”
Chair Beth Stafford said the policy change was because the Committee receives complaints that members are using phones to communicate with the public during meetings.
“That’s why a lot of the information now is printed,” she added.
Member Hillary Kniffen agreed, noting that was the reason Boston School Committee members’ phones were confiscated a few years ago because people thought they were texting each other during a meeting.
“It’s more to protect us,” she said of the policy change. “If someone sees you … you might be looking something up, but they don’t know and they might want to see your phone and it could be problematic.”
Vice Chair Christopher Scriven says he has a lot of the same functions on his laptop, allowing him to text on that device.
“I think the idea is we’re supposed to try to pay attention as much as we possibly can, and if you can balance that and work off your phone, I don’t see it a problem,” he said.
DiGravio said he would do his “absolute best” to transition to the laptop during meetings.
In other business, new Whitman Student Resource Officer Mark Poirier introduced himself to the committee. He succeeds Kevin Harrington, who has been promoted to the rank of sergeant on the Whitman Police Department.
“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s a whole different role for me.”
Poirier went to Whitman Schools along with Committee Vice Chair Christopher Scriven.