School Deficit Down, BOE Votes to FOIA Bank Records

On another two-meeting night, the Board of Education (BOE) and Board of Finance (BOF) met in different schools on June 2, 2025, but some of the same issues were up for discussion. For instance, the BOF had a wide-ranging discussion about the school budget, its deficit, the self-insurance fund and other issues. Over at the BOE, there were more specifics. 

Interim Superintendent Dr. Laura Norbut said the projected deficit is down to $203,647. That deficit is due entirely to the food services budget, as the BOE’s operating budget is now predicting a small surplus due to a third, unexpected Excess Cost reimbursement from the state. Norbut said the district expects a surplus of about $46,353.  

The food services department operates as a separate entity from the schools, however, the BOE is required by law to cover its deficit, according to statements made at various meetings. So, as the end of the fiscal year draws near, the question is how will the district handle the deficit, which brings us to the next topic.

One of the options the schools would like to explore is using funds from its non-lapsing capital improvement fund, but the town says the funds aren’t there. This is confusing, so bear with me while I try to explain. 

BOE Chair Sara Kelley says the last time the school district saw a statement from this account was in January of 2024, and that the funds were there at that time, which led to the BOF and BOE agreeing to use money from that account to help bring down the budget increase for the 2024-2025 school year. 

However, the town now says that the money was already earmarked to help pay for the middle school roof project. At Monday’s BOF meeting, CFO Yana Abramovich explained that the town paid the bill from the General Fund with the intent of moving the money from the non-lapsing account to the General Fund. 

At the same meeting, the board discussed the possibility that the BOE was going to put in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the statements from that bank account. This bank account has become a bigger point of contention in recent months, after the school district indicated during a BOF they were able to get information about the account. At that time, Abramovich pointed out that no one from the school district is authorized to access the account.

At a subsequent BOF meeting, Abramovich said that she had asked the bank to launch an investigation into how the information was obtained.

On Monday night, the BOE voted to file a FOIA request to see the bank statements.