The vote was postponed until the next meeting to allow Board members additional time to review the minutes.  Mary Kate noted that the March 6th meeting minutes incorrectly marked her as present when she had been absent.  Patrick shared that he would email committee members the amended minutes and coordinate the vote by email.

The vote was postponed until the next meeting to allow Board members additional time to review the minutes.

The vote was postponed until the next meeting to allow Board members additional time to review the minutes.

Marelin provided an overview of the Q3 financials to the Board, noting budget overages and other areas of note. Ron asked where he could see Board giving, and asked Patrick to send him an update on his own giving history.

Marelin and Meghan presented the proposed FY27 operating budget, including projected 5% increases in both revenue and expenses, driven largely by final-year of the Student Opportunity Act funding, personnel costs, benefits, and instructional technology investments. The presentation highlighted that the school is projected to maintain strong cash reserves above DESE benchmarks and that multi-year projections show the current operating model remaining sustainable over the next five years despite conservative assumptions around future revenue growth. Additional discussion included long-term planning assumptions related to enrollment, salary growth, grant funding, and operating reserves.

During the discussion, Mary Kate asked whether any future funding streams were expected to replace the Student Opportunity Act funding, and Meghan shared that no replacement funding currently exists, though there will likely be pressure on the state to identify future support given the broader statewide impact on schools. 

Amy asked how the budget remains sustainable given projected revenue growth of approximately 1% alongside continued salary increases, and Meghan explained that while the model would not be sustainable indefinitely, the next five years remain financially stable due to several mitigating factors, including the eventual unwinding of the New Markets Tax Credit structure, which will lower operating costs. Amy suggested presenting the Board with a visual multi-year sustainability projection to help communicate the school’s long-term outlook while also flagging future financial concerns, and recommended future Board financial trainings to help strengthen members’ understanding of school finance concepts. Meghan also confirmed that Springfield Prep was not impacted by the recent Springfield food vendor contract issues because the school does not use that vendor.

Meghan provided an overview of the FY27 employee benefits memo, noting that the school worked with HRKnowledge to renew benefit offerings and was able to keep medical insurance increases within budget without making significant plan changes. The memo highlighted an 8.5% increase in medical insurance rates, a 2% increase in dental rates, no increase to PFML, disability, or life insurance rates, and an estimated 7.1% overall increase in benefits expense to the school.

Meghan emphasized that employees continue to increase their use of benefit services over time, including through the addition of family members or family expansions. Amy asked how best to clarify the 7.1% increase referenced in the memo, particularly in relation to what the school pays versus what employees contribute, and Meghan and Amy discussed adding clarifying language to the final version presented to the Board. Amy also praised the school for using a benefits broker to secure competitive pricing given the complexity of employee benefits.

Meghan provided background on the capital reserve memo, which requests approval to use capital reserve funds to repave the back Roosevelt-side parking lot, and the Committee discussed the location and need for the work, including Ron’s observations from student drop-off, possible signage updates, Amy’s positive feedback on the memo format, and questions about next steps for capital reserves and how they should be presented to the Board.