Plympton School Committee to Seek $184,000 at Special Town Meeting for FY24 Deficit

PLYMPTON -- April 29, 2024, Plympton School Committee will seek $184,000 at a special town meeting to cover a fiscal year 2024 budget shortfall driven by special education costs. Committee Chair Jason Fraser and Finance Director Sarah Hickey reported that special education transportation, tuition, and contracted services have produced a combined deficit of $272,532, with all circuit breaker and 240 grant funds already exhausted. Sixty thousand dollars of the ask is a placeholder for an alarm system at Dennett Elementary, with a third bid still pending; officials hope to return unused funds at the July closeout. The committee also declined to enter school choice for the coming year, citing high enrollment and budget constraints, and deferred a vote on a new facility usage fee schedule, intended to replace an eliminated custodial overtime line, pending legal review ahead of a July 1 effective date.