Harwood Unified Union School District (HUUSD) spending appears to be below budget for fiscal year 2023, according to preliminary figures. HUUSD director of finance and operations Lisa Estler told the board at its September 27 board meeting that the district will carry over a $585,501 balance for the following fiscal year.
Estler presented a financial summary of HUUSD general funds for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2023. She said that HUUSD carried forward approximately $697,000 in fiscal year 2022 and around $1 million in previous years. “So, 2023 was very close to the budget,” she added.
The district’s largest expense increases were benefits as well as other purchased services and professional services. Salaries increased by 4 percent from the previous year due to contractual increases, but were lower than expected - $21.6 million versus a budgeted $22.3 million due to in filling staff vacancies last year.
Estler said that her department was “very surprised” to receive an additional $538,512 in reimbursement from the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) for Special Education costs. This was a 67 percent reimbursement that has increased from 60 percent in previous years. Estler said that the language government how the reimbursement is calculated has changed at the state level.
This reimbursement, in addition to a longer-standing 95 percent reimbursement for Special Education costs that exceed $60,000, brings HUUSD spending for fiscal year 2023 under budget.
