Plympton School Committee Grapples with $213,000 Budget Deficit

Special education costs, long-term substitutes strain district finances

PLYMPTON, MA - October 28 - The Plympton School Committee is facing a significant budget shortfall of $213,000 for the current fiscal year, primarily due to unexpected special education costs and long-term substitute needs.

At a recent meeting, school officials discussed the financial challenges and potential cost-cutting measures to address the deficit.

Sarah Hickey, the Director of Finance and Operations, presented the budget situation to the committee. "Plympton is projected to overspend the FY25 budget by about $213,000," she said. "I recommend a budget freeze at this time."

The deficit is attributed to several factors, including a new out-of-district placement for a student with complex medical needs, the identification of a student requiring a one-to-one paraprofessional, and multiple long-term teacher absences necessitating substitute coverage.

Committee members expressed concern about the impact of potential cuts on educational services. Jon Wilhelmsen stated, "I want to make sure we're not shortchanging anything here and that there aren't cuts that we've made or areas that we need to focus on to make sure that we're doing it."

The committee is considering various options to address the shortfall. They voted to implement an immediate budget freeze while exploring other solutions. The district has already identified approximately $50,000 in potential savings through line-item reductions.

Additionally, the committee discussed utilizing a special education reserve fund, which currently holds about $50,000. However, even with these measures, the district still faces a gap of approximately $145,000.

School officials emphasized that services for students with special needs will not be compromised. "The children that require the services will get the services," Wilhelmsen assured. "It's up to us to work with the town to figure out how we continue to provide all the services to all of the children that we need."

The committee plans to meet with town officials, including the Finance Committee and Town Administrator, to discuss potential solutions and additional resources. They are preparing a detailed breakdown of potential cuts, ranging from less impactful items to more significant cuts.

Wilhelmsen suggested creating a tiered list of potential cuts. "We almost need it tiered so that this is what we if we don't buy projector bulbs, you know, the world hopefully won't end," he said. "But that is much preferable to not having the right support in the building."

The budget challenges come at a time when the district's per-pupil expenditure is below the state average. Hickey presented data showing that in fiscal year 2022, Plympton's in-district per-pupil expenditure was $15,788, compared to the state average of $19,567.

Despite the current financial strain, school officials remain committed to maintaining educational quality. The district is embarking on a curriculum review cycle, starting with mathematics this year. Dr. Tricia Clifford, Silver Lake’s Assistant Superintendent, explained, "The idea behind this is that strategically speaking, we're always looking at the curriculum and things that we might want to do or we might want to add."

The committee is also focusing on literacy initiatives. Dr. Clifford announced plans for a literacy needs assessment, stating, "We're working with the Hill for Literacy, which is a consulting group. They're going to be working with them to conduct focus groups, get information via surveys and collect information about our literacy K-12."

As the district navigates these financial challenges, committee members stressed the importance of transparency and collaboration with the town. They plan to present a detailed analysis of the budget situation and potential solutions to town officials in the coming weeks.

The next regularly scheduled school committee meeting is set for Dec. 9, but additional meetings may be called to address the budget situation. In the meantime, school officials will continue to refine their cost-cutting strategies and explore all available options to minimize the impact on students and educational programs.