Board hears first-month budget snapshot; medical-benefits fund closes prior year with reserve

The Cheshire Board of Education received a finance update on Aug. 14 showing the approved fiscal year 2025–26 budget at $93,124,314 and reporting encumbrances and expenditures through July 31 that covered roughly 19 percent of the fiscal year.
Doctor Harrigan summarized the packet and noted that larger encumbrances for payroll and transportation typically appear in September and October. “At this time there are no variance concerns,” he said.
Emily Taylor, on the finance team, said the district locked energy prices for several commodities for the upcoming year and that, compared with the prior year, the district had favorable pricing for heating oil, diesel and gasoline. She said propane pricing and electricity lock-ins will be addressed this fall and that natural gas purchases will remain at Eversource market rates.
Taylor gave a medical-benefits update: the budget for that fund for the fiscal year is nearly $16,000,000, with a planned contribution about $1.2 million higher than last year (about $100,000 more per month). She said the starting balance is $2,600,000 and that the district closed the prior fiscal year with 2.25 claim months in reserve and about $330,000 more than the prior July balance. She also said the district expects stop-loss reimbursements to post in the current fiscal year.
A member of the public, Dee Flanagan, asked whether medical insurance had been sent out to bid; Taylor replied it had not and that the district currently works with an insurance broker and Cigna.