SWAMPSCOTT — Swampscott Public Schools is projected to end the fiscal year under budget, according to a second-quarter financial update presented to the School Committee by Cheryl Herrick-Stella, the district’s director of finance and operations.
Based on second-quarter spending data, district officials attribute the anticipated $65,000 surplus largely to staffing vacancies and delayed hiring throughout the school year, Herrick-Stella told committee members.
“We had a lot of new administrators come into the district, and their salaries ended up being a little bit lower than we had initially anticipated and budgeted for,” she said. The schools were also able to lessen costs across other departments through retirements and attritions.
The budget numbers are considered a big win for the schools, which were hit with significant reductions — over $100,000 in federal education funds from the Every Student Succeeds Act, the program that distributes Title-related aid to school districts. The most significant losses were to Title I funding, which is intended to help districts meet the needs of low-income families.
Herrick-Stella pointed out that the school’s ability to recover from federal losses, which were announced after the FY2026 budget was approved, was aided by a $26,000 additional appropriation from the Special Town Meeting in December to cover transportation fees for students in foster care or facing homelessness.
While the schools have managed to curb costs in most departments, the Special Education cost center is over budget by more than $300,000. Most of these costs were expected from reappropriations discussed in prior meetings, but transportation costs are significantly affecting the numbers.
“The Commonwealth does a lot right when it comes to education,” Vice Chair Glenn Paster said. “Reimbursement for transportation is not one of them.”
Massachusetts, Paster pointed out, is one of only six states that use a “unique” reimbursement model. Transportation costs are generally associated with the state’s “Special Education Circuit Breaker” program, which provides reimbursement to school districts for high-cost special education students.
The nature of the circuit breaker funding presents challenges for budget forecasting, because reimbursement rates are not predetermined.
“The transportation portion of our circuit breaker reimbursement sometimes is zero…sometimes is 25 percent, and sometimes it’s 50,” said Herrick-Stella. “So there’s no predictability…After we’ve already spent the money, that’s when they tell us how much we will get reimbursed.”
Herrick-Stella pointed out that, despite unpredictability, meeting the needs of all students is something the district prioritizes. Public schools in Massachusetts are required by state law to provide an appropriate free education to all students, regardless of their individual level of need. In rare cases, this means covering the cost of transportation and tuition to schools that are better suited to accommodate a student’s needs.
Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Martha Raymond also attended the meeting and spoke on the transportation budget.
“I know there’s a lot of costs associated with it, but I understand the costs. It’s a hard thing to do,” she said. Raymond pointed out that the typical schedule of a driver is in two shifts, with split hours that don’t work for a lot of people.
She expressed gratitude for the transportation drivers, noting that the job is not easy. “We’re putting our most precious little children…sometimes 50 kids, in a bus that’s loud, and you’re trying to make sure kids are safe,” she said. “I think it deserves a lot of respect, what a bus driver does.”
Despite the overages in the special education department, Herrick-Stella reported that the district should be able to cover any remaining deficits enough to not have to dip into the special education reserve fund.
When the budget projection update concluded, School Committee members thanked Herrick-Stella for her work managing a challenging fiscal year marked by federal funding cuts and leadership changes within the Committee.
With several months remaining in the fiscal year, officials said they will continue closely monitoring spending to ensure the district finishes the year in stable financial condition.
