The Up-Island Regional School Committee rescinded and re-certified its fiscal year 2024 budget on Wednesday during a meeting with Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools business administrator Mark Friedman. The original budget was certified on Dec. 22, 2022, but Friedman informed the committee Wednesday that it could be reduced by approximately $29,000.
The re-certification comes after monthly premiums for MVYPS’ insurance plans with Cape Cod Municipal Health Group came out to be less than assumed. As a result, Friedman stated that the shared services budget for MVYPS was re-certified by the all-Island school committee last week, with the up-Island school district receiving a $4,336.59 portion of that budget reduction. Friedman also recommended a $24,681.52 reduction in the health insurance lines of the up-Island school district’s non-shared services budget.
The old FY 2024 up-Island school committee budget was rescinded unanimously, and the new budget was certified on a 4-1 vote, with committee member Skipper Manter being the sole dissenting voter. The assessed budget was reduced by a total of $29,018.11, or 0.2%. The operational budget is now $14.89 million, and the assessed budget is $14.36 million.
Overall, insurance rates with Cape Cod Municipal Health Group will still have gone up. This increased expenditure, among other changes, have caused the up-Island school committee’s assessed budget to increase by 5.05 percent from FY 2023, and the operational budget by 7.12 percent.
