Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text
December 21, 2020, Finance Committee Meeting - Virtual Meeting. Minutes
Saved text from 4 source pages. Transcription and OCR may contain errors; verify figures and wording against the original. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
Source page 1
Minutes Voted on: 12/21/20
Canton Finance Committee Vote: 6-0-1
801 Washington Street
Canton, MA 02021
Meeting Minutes
October 22, 2020
Finance Committee Members Present: David Clough, Dan Cole, Emilio Mauro, Tim McKenna, Reuki Schutt, Cindy
Thomas and Wai Wong.
Finance Committee Members Absent: Rob Barker.
Guests Present:
Derek Folan, Interim School Superintendent
Nichola Gallagher, School Committee
Ellen Jones, Finance Committee Secretary
Kristen Mirliani, Chair, School Committee
Maureen Moran, School Committee
Barry Nectow, School Business Administrator
Randy Scollins, Finance Director
Opening: Chair McKenna called the Zoom virtual meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
Approval of Agenda: Chair McKenna reviewed the agenda. The focus of the meeting was to discuss funding
issues for the School Department and to address their request for a Finance Committee Reserve Fund Transfer.
New Business
Discussion with Mr. Nectow regarding COVID-19 Expenses and Projection
School Committee Chair, Kristen Mirliani, opened up the discussion by thanking the Finance Committee and stating
that the School Committee programs in place are working. Some students have tested positive for COVID but there
has been no spread throughout the school population. However, she did note that it has been expensive for the
School Department coming up with the programs.
Interim School Superintendent, Derek Folan, stated that considerable time was spent over the summer developing
different models for learning. Currently, Canton Public Schools are in a hybrid model. Safety and support measures
have caused the greatest impact financially on the School Department budget.
Mr. Nectow reviewed a spreadsheet (see meeting documents) of the funding sources and expenses for the School
Department. In summary:
• Various sources of funding total $2,617,932.
• Initial expenses through June 30, 2021 are projected to be $2,567,932.
• Staffing for the Remote Learning Pathway program will cost $1,075,000 for 20 one-year positions and three
Educational Assistants. COVID-related additional staffing for four one-year custodians and 17 Educational
Assistants will cost $625,000.
• The projected shortfall is $1,650,000.
Mr. Nectow stated that he worked with Mr. Scollins to come up with several iterations on funding options (see
meeting documents) for the School Committee budget deficit. Option 1 would have required a Special Town Meeting
(STM). Option 2 met the needs of the School Department and would avoid having to go before the voters at a STM.
Option 2, supported by both the School Committee and Select Board included the following:
• Finance Committee Reserve Fund Transfer of $600,000.
• Special Education Reserve Transfer of $550,000.
• A transfer from three School Department revolving funds (Preschool Revolving, Athletics and Building
Rental) totaling $500,000.
Mr. Nectow stated that an article would be placed in the Annual Town Meeting warrant for the replenishment of the
three revolving funds for only the amount utilized by the School Department.
Mr. Scollins reviewed for the Finance Committee the $2,083,000 Cares Act funding the Town received to date. A
total of $1,389,000 was allocated to the Schools and $695,000 was allocated to Municipal departments (see meeting
documents). He emphasized the three requirements the Town and School would have to meet to be eligible under
the Cares Act: expenses must be unbudgeted, spent by 12/30/20 and must be necessary due to COVID-19. Unless
FINCOM 20211022 Minutes.docx Page 1 of 4Source page 2
Congress changes the timing restriction of 12/30/20, approximately $130,000 of municipal expenses will not be covered. Due to the timing restriction Mr. Scollins has projected a surplus in Cares Act Funding of $233,051 for the municipal departments which could then be allocated to the School Department thereby reducing the original $600,000 Reserve Fund Transfer Request needed to a lower amount of $370,000. The Select Board would be voting at their meeting on October 27 to reallocate the $233,051 to the School Department so they could take advantage of these funds before the deadline of 12/30/20. If Congress changes the language on the usage deadline date, it would not change the recommendation of the use of the Finance Committee Reserve Fund. Mr. Scollins stated that typically he prefers to access the Finance Committee Reserve Fund in mid-May, at a time when year to date expenses are better known. Over allocation of the funds would be less likely because the year to date expenses would be closer identified as to how much would need to be allocated for shortfalls. At the time of the meeting Mr. Scollins stated that the Cherry Sheets had been released to the cities and towns. The Town can count on $900,000 in state aid that the Town had not budgeted for. The Town assumed a worst case scenario when setting the FY21 budget. The Town will have $900,000 available at the May Town Meeting to “tap” for requests for this year, such as revolving account replenishment or other requests. Mr. Scollins stated the Town is in pretty good shape financially even after having to incur all these other costs. The Town is not “leaving any money on the table” with regard to CARES Act funding. Mr. Nectow provided information regarding special education expenses, which are unrelated to the COVID situation (see meeting documents). He stated that there was no additional transportation expense that was COVID related. A Finance Committee member requested at the last Select Board meeting information (in particular to special education) that could be a future potential risk for the Town. This would allow the Finance Committee budget information to be considered prior to making their decision on the Finance Committee Reserve Fund Transfer request. A Finance Committee member inquired about $171,736 capital project funding needed for the period of 10/1/20 thru 12/30/20. Mr. Scollins stated that none of the capital projects are at risk for funding shortages and that the $171,736 not on the Funding Needs spreadsheet were related to two projects nearing completion – the pool and the rink. There were delays experienced on both projects which has resulted in and will likely result in requests for payment of these costs that the Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) and one of the general contractors has experienced that were over and above for what they planned for. Mr. Scollins had inquired of state officials directly who confirmed for him that these types of costs could be covered under the CARES Act and that Bob McCarthy, the Chair of the Buildings Renovation Committee is documenting these expenses. This conversation took place during a Zoom meeting with state officials. If the rink and pool capital projects close out with a surplus, these surplus funds could be reallocated at a future Town Meeting. Discussion with Mr. Nectow regarding Special Education Expense Analysis Mr. Nectow referred to a two-page analysis, explaining the special education operating budget, the $3,139,425 deficit at the end of FY20, the total funding sources (offsets) comprised of the Special Education Stabilization Fund withdrawal of $400,000 at Town Meeting, the $739,425 of grants received and the $2,000,000 circuit breaker funding received. As a result of being closed from March through the end of June, Mr. Nectow stated that the School Department definitely had savings in the three special education budget line items. The projected SPED budget as of the end of December 2019 was projected at $8.8 million. At the end of March 2020 the budget was projected at $7.6 million, or $1.2 million less than projected at the end of December 2019. Mr. Nectow is projecting a SPED budget of $8.5 million as of 10/8/20. As the year progresses there tends to be more out-of-district placements which could affect the budget. For the remainder of FY 21, Mr. Nectow stated that “things are leveling off” and that the School Department “has enough means to cover its expenses”. Vote – Reserve Fund Transfer of $370,000 to the School Department to cover COVID-related Expenses Mr. Scollins reported that at the end of FY20 there were no requests made to the Finance Committee for transfers from the $700,000 Finance Committee Reserve Fund . A motion made by Ms. Thomas to transfer $370,000 from the Finance Committee Reserve Fund to the School Department budget in order to cover COVID-related expenses was seconded by Mr. Wong. FINCOM 20211022 Minutes.docx Page 2 of 4
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Roll Call Vote: Ms. Thomas Aye Ms. Schutt Aye Mr. Clough Aye Mr. Wong Aye Mr. Cole Aye Mr. McKenna Aye Mr. Mauro Aye The motion passed 7-0-0. Approval of Minutes – There were no minutes presented to the Finance Committee for approval. Adjournment - A motion made by Mr. Wong to adjourn the meeting at 8:28 p.m. was seconded by Mr. Mauro. Roll Call Vote: Ms. Thomas Aye Ms. Schutt Aye Mr. Clough Aye Mr. Wong Aye Mr. Cole Aye Mr. McKenna Aye Mr. Mauro Aye The motion to adjourn at 8:28 p.m. passed 7-0-0. Minutes reviewed by: Mr. McKenna and Mr. Scollins Respectfully submitted, Timothy McKenna Chair, Canton Finance Committee FINCOM 20211022 Minutes.docx Page 3 of 4
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Canton Finance Committee Meeting
October 22, 2020
Please note: Some meeting documents may be found on the Town’s website under the Posted Minutes
section (Laser Fiche).
Agenda for October 22, 2020 (1 page).
COVID-19 Expenses and Projection dated 10/1/20, provided by Barry Nectow, School Business Administrator and
Randy Scollins, Finance Director (1 page).
Funding Options for School Committee Budget Deficit dated 10/1/20 provided by Barry Nectow and Randy Scollins
(1 page).
Estimated Cares Act Funding Needs dated 10/19/20, provided by Randy Scollins (1 page).
Special Education Expenses Analysis FY20-FY23 dated 6/30/20 provided by Barry Nectow (1 page).
Operating Budget Summary & Forecast FY20-FY23 – School Department (1 page).
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