Of Brockton and $14M

 Let me open by noting that I know only what I have read in the press, and I wouldn't post beyond that.

The news broke yesterday that the Brockton Public Schools is faced with a $14M deficit for the FY23 fiscal year--that is, the year that ended June 30. Public school districts in Massachusetts are required to balance their books, and that fiscal year has ended. You can read Boston Globe coverage here and WBUR's here, The Brockton School Committee was in executive session for four hours yesterday for executive session reasons 1 and 2: 

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A, §§ 21 (1) – To discuss the reputation, character, physical condition or mental health, rather than professional competence, of an individual, or to discuss the discipline or dismissal of, or complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual.

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A, s. 21(a)(2) – To conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel.

It appears that they did not specify who in either case; note that the person spoken of in the first has the right to attend the meeting.  

The same time that news broke about the deficit also came the news that their superintendent Mike Thomas is going on a medical leave, though WHDH interviewed him today, it appears. Among other things, he said: 

“I’m the leader of the school district so, obviously, you can’t overspend the budget,” Superintendent Mike Thomas told 7NEWS. “But I can tell you that every dime went toward supporting kids.”

“I’m guilty of keeping too many staff members, doing what I thought was right to help kids recover from COVID and provide them the support that they needed and support our staff,” Thomas said. 

This afternoon, the Brockton School Committee met in public session long enough to vote in their deputy superintendent of operations James Cobb as acting superintendent and for an independent investigation before going back into executive session. 

I'm sure we're going to see lots of numbers swirling around: note that districts report their actual spending to the state in required End of Year reports that are usually due in October. Those include both district and municipal spending on behalf of the district; it also includes grant spending, which would matter as it's an ESSER year. ESSER funding comes through the state, with which districts were required to file reports on their planned spending.