PLYMOUTH — September 14, 2026 — Out-of-district special education placements the district did not see coming, and federal grants that came in below last year’s, opened a hole in Plymouth’s school budget over the summer. Administrators have pared it to just over half a million dollars by freezing non-instructional hiring and discretionary spending. The superintendent will now spend five public meetings on how the budget works before proposing the next one.
The Full Story
The students who drove the cost did not come out of Plymouth’s own programs. Superintendent Chris Campbell told the committee they moved in — some from out of state, some late in the spring, some previously served through Medicaid-funded programs — and that a district becomes financially responsible for a student in a collaborative placement immediately on arrival, with none of the April 1 cutoff that applies to private placements.
“This is not a special education issue. This is an issue of funding,” Campbell said, noting the district has spent millions building in-district programs to keep students in their neighborhood schools.
Federal grants falling short compounded it. Together, Campbell said, the added costs and the lost federal money ran over a million dollars.
The response was internal and immediate: a pause on recruitment for non-instructional positions, reduced discretionary spending, limits on non-essential supply purchases, less travel and a pause on non-essential professional development. That brought the remaining fiscal 2027 gap to just over half a million dollars against a budget Campbell put at roughly $130 million.
He said he is not worried about closing this year. He is worried about next year, because the costs carry forward.
Rather than bring the committee a single comprehensive budget package in December as usual, the district will run a five-meeting public education series from Sept. 28 through mid-November, working through the budget in pieces before any numbers are proposed: how the district is funded, which costs are fixed or mandated, why personnel and benefits drive the total, a deep dive on special education and transportation, and finally what will guide the decisions. The December presentation still happens — but after it, not instead of it.
“Our objective is really to not dump a final number on the committee in December,” Campbell said.
He also offered a figure for what the district has already squeezed: the non-personnel budget rose less than 1 percent this year, because the district protected people and programs.
School Business Administrator Adam Blaisdell reviewed the internal controls audit commissioned after an anonymous tip led to charges against the cafeteria director. Investigators found a roughly 10-year pattern; equipment was recovered, and the restitution figure reflects only what could be proven.
The auditors focused on payroll as the highest risk. Cafeteria payroll, onboarding, wage garnishments and accounts payable have all moved to central offices; absences and extra-hours requests now run through the district system with no mid-stream edits; equipment has been tagged and logged; a new inventory platform is in place for perishables; each school now orders and is invoiced separately; and salary and food accounts have been broken out by building. Camera coverage at point-of-sale terminals was considered and deferred. Committee members asked that the new food service director present directly at a future meeting
