BROCKTON — The final report of a state-funded review of Brockton Public Schools' budget deficit has been completed and released. The report showed that the district not only finished the 2023 fiscal year with an $18.3 million deficit, but is projected to have an additional deficit of $19 million to $25. The current 2024 budget is expected to have a shortfall of $7 million to $19 million, and the 2025 budget is expected to have a deficit of $7 million to $19 million.
According to the findings outlined in a report conducted by data analysis firm Open Architects and paid for by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), “BPS has a general fund budget of 231.11 billion yen. (8% to 11%)” as of February 2024.
“Our analysis highlights a number of financial challenges facing BPS, from budget mismanagement and financial mismanagement to complex contract and benefit management,” Open Architects' report said. , these are contributing to continued budget deficits and fiscal pressures.”
“This report makes clear that, despite the enormous and growing costs associated with providing a comprehensive education for students, we are planning and mitigating those costs. “We have not done a good enough job to ensure that we do so, and we have not taken sufficient care to ensure that we are in compliance,'' said BPS Acting Superintendent James Cobbs in an official statement. mentioned in.
Cobbs served as interim superintendent after current BPS Superintendent Mike Thomas went on sick leave in August 2023, when the budget deficit was first announced. Although Thomas recently reported to the Brockton School Committee that he felt “well enough to return to work,” the board instead voted to place Thomas on administrative leave.
“We have an obligation to the community of Brockton to do better, and we remain committed to working with our city and state partners to fundamentally reimagine our budget and spending processes in a sustainable way. And most importantly – we continue to move toward our goal of providing the best education possible for Brockton College students,” Cobbs said.
“There are too many budget mistakes.”Here are the five main reasons why Brockton school budgets are collapsing
Fiscal deficit in 2023
Just before the start of the 2023-2024 school year, Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan announced that BPS was approximately $14.4 million over budget for fiscal year 2023 (ending June 30, 2023). Since Open Architects began auditing the budget, that amount has increased to more than $18 million.
Most of the deficit came from special education costs, personnel costs, and transportation costs.
“Open Architects has found that the core drivers of school district budget deficits are costs associated with transportation, special education services, and some employee benefits. Additionally, it is We outlined deficiencies in the organization and spending process,” a statement from the city of Brockton said.
“As with other challenges facing our city and schools, there is no one-size-fits-all solution,” Cobbs said. “However, this report provides important insight into where we went wrong and a roadmap to improve our processes. It also provides a roadmap to improve our processes and ensure that students are no longer suffering due to these financial challenges.” “This also provides an opportunity to identify strategic spending cuts that can be made in the short term to avoid dramatic deficits this year.”
Outlook for 2024
With four months remaining in the 2024 fiscal year, Brockton Public Schools is expected to be at least $19 million in the red when the school year ends June 30.
The report states: “Transportation costs are expected to reach $22.5 million, which is twice the original budget of $11.2 million. As of January 31, BPS has received 95% of its originally allocated fiscal year 2024 transportation budget. % is used up.”
“The main problem is that even though the district insourced its transportation services several years ago, it never created an adequate budget to account for the full cost of the services. Cost overruns were identified for transportation, bus drivers, homeless transportation, district special education transportation, and vehicles.”
In addition to transportation costs, the district's special education budget was severely underfunded by nearly $4 million. BPS ran a $2.8 million deficit in out-of-district placement tuition and nearly $1 million in liability costs for more than 58,000 hours of unmet state-required service needs for students with disabilities. Paid $.
The district also has individual, non-labor contracts with more than 130 Brockton Public Schools employees that “entitle them to individualized benefits and working conditions,” including overtime pay, vacation buybacks and raises.
Troy Clarkson, chief financial officer for Brockton Public Schools, said at the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 5, that these contracts are “unusual” in their “generousness” and that such contracts said that it was inconsistent with the way it is normally done.
He gave the example of the same person potentially receiving a longevity bonus as well as a retirement incentive. The contract also includes generous sick leave and vacation buyback provisions, among other things.
“Great sale”Brockton schools signed at least 125 non-union contracts with high benefits.
Expecting a huge deficit next year
According to the findings, BPS projects an additional multi-million dollar deficit in its next fiscal year budget in 2025 to fund certain programs and staff contracts.
Based on the Governor's fiscal year 2025 budget, BPS is expected to be allocated $250,523,631, an increase of $19.4 million or 8.4%. The increase is due to increased transportation costs for the City of Brockton, which will total $23.4 million for district projects, an increase of 108% from the original FY 2024 budget.
Despite the larger amount of money earmarked for BPS, the district still faces future budget losses.
“The issues identified in the report are unacceptable,” Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan said in a statement.
“The City, with guidance and support from the Commonwealth, is taking steps to address these issues in the short term and take precautions to ensure this never happens again. “We will stabilize Brockton Public Schools and the city's finances and ensure Brockton's students, teachers, and citizens have the resources they need to succeed and thrive.”