Plympton School Committee freezes rural aid spending as FY25 deficit hits $111,400

PLYMPTON — April 28, 2025 — Plympton School Committee votes to suspend rural aid spending as FY25 deficit nearly doubles to $111,400. The committee voted unanimously at its April 28 meeting to hold all discretionary rural aid allocations in reserve after Director of Finance and Operations Sarah [last name unconfirmed] presented an updated budget analysis showing the Dennett Elementary School's net projected deficit had grown from roughly $50,000 to $111,377 — driven primarily by an unprecedented five staff members on long-term maternity or medical leave in a single year. The committee had previously earmarked $144,000 in rural aid three ways: $50,000 for an HVAC rooftop unit funded through a Senator Moran appropriation, $54,000 toward the operating deficit, and $40,000 into the special education stabilization fund. All three commitments are now on hold. Committee Chair Jason Fraser, who also serves as legislative agent, was authorized unanimously to amend the special town meeting article on the floor at the May 14 town meeting to adjust whatever amount, if any, the committee can safely direct to stabilization. Fraser also reported the House Ways and Means budget raised the per-pupil minimum increment to a record $150 per student but cut the governor's rural aid proposal from $16.5 million to $7.5 million statewide — a cut he said he is working to reverse in the Senate, as the Senate restored the same funding last year.