Plympton School Committee Releases $50,000 Reserve Fund, Deficit Drops to $46,000

PLYMPTON -- December 9, 2024, Plympton's Dennett Elementary School budget deficit fell to roughly $46,626 after the School Committee unanimously voted to release $50,000 from the Special Education Reserve Fund at its December 9 meeting. The original FY25 shortfall stood at $257,664 against a town-meeting-approved budget of $3,975,000, but was reduced through a spending freeze saving $60,431, Halifax extended-school-year tuition reimbursements, and $53,608 in excess circuit breaker funds. Committee chair Jason Fraser cautioned that the number remains volatile and that a FY26 budget adequate to restore current services would require roughly $4,250,000, a 6 percent increase, potentially pushing the town to its Proposition 2.5 levy ceiling and forcing a spring override vote. Fraser also noted that legislation filed by Representative Kathy LaNatra to raise the special ed stabilization fund cap from 2 percent to 5 percent of net school spending stalled at third reading and will be refiled, leaving the fund with approximately $163 remaining. A joint meeting of all three Union 31 towns' school committees, finance committees, and town managers is set for January 16, 2025, in Kingston.