Gill-Montague School Committee Eyes $800,000 Budget Gap for Fiscal Year 2021

GILL — May 12, 2020 — Gill-Montague School Committee confronts projected $800,000 budget gap for fiscal year 2021. Meeting virtually Tuesday, the committee was walked through a scenario by Superintendent Michael and Business Director Joanne in which the district loses its full Student Opportunity Act increase plus 2 percent of base Chapter 70 funding, producing the eight-hundred-thousand-dollar shortfall. The administration proposed closing most of the gap by drawing on $252,000 in federal CARES Act relief, holding three hundred and twenty thousand dollars in newly budgeted positions, and rolling forward school choice and transportation revolving funds — leaving E&D reserves near $650,000. The committee voted unanimously to accept a $4,000 cash donation from Dean's Beans for meal distribution and approved three accounts payable warrants totaling $115,414.95. A decision on whether to limit school choice enrollment for 2020-2021, with roughly $55,000 in annual revenue at stake, was continued to the May 26 meeting.