Cheshire School Board Wants Special Education Reserve Fund

One of the hardest budget items for any school board to manage is special education costs because of the volatile nature of the account.

One special needs students can cost the district tens of thousands of dollars, and those costs can crop up at any time as people move from district to district.

In many cases, those funds are reimbursed by the state, but when that funding hits town accounts is often a guessing game. To take that uncertainty out of the budget, the Cheshire Board of Education is asking the Town Council to create a reserve fund to pay those costs while awaiting state reimbursement.

"This is a way to hopefully stabilize and mitigate those costs," Supt. of Schools Greg J. Florio told the board recently.

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Other towns have done it, he said, and Cheshire does it with its debt service.

This year, the district expects to receive $87,236 in excess special education reimbursement, and the board is asking the council to use that money to establish the reserve fund.

In time, the fund could grow to impressive levels, Florio said, as excess state funding is set aside in it.

"Since 2003, in all but four years, we have received excess revenue," he said, amounting to $700,000 in that time.

"This could provide budget relief and be a good management tool," he said.

Even with that reimbursement, the state substantially underfunds the town in its Education Cost Sharing grants, Florio said, by as much as $275,000. The state has capped appropriations, he said, and allocations are pro rated.

"My fear is that number is going to keep contracting," he said. "The reserve account will be better if that continues to happen over the next four years."

"This account is important for a number of reasons," said school board member Tony Perogni, who is chairman of the board's Finance Committee. The district can't depend on the timing of state reimbursements when paying its bills, he said.

The school board unanimously approved the resolution, which now goes to the Town Council for approval.

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