Schools receive grant to support Italian class

The Canton School Committee received some good news at its July 11 meeting regarding the funding of its Italian language offerings at CHS courtesy of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAECI).

According to School Superintendent Derek Folan, Canton will receive a grant totaling $13,077.50 Euros, which is enough to cover one of two Italian sections that will be offered in the upcoming school year, with the school budget covering the other class.

The donation is made possible by C.A.S.It., the managing body of MAECI’s grants since 1996. Working in collaboration with the Italian Consulate of Boston, Italian government agencies, various Italian and Italo-American organizations, and schools and universities in Massachusetts, C.A.S.It. facilitates the awarding of grants to further its mission of assisting communities that wish to “introduce, preserve, rejuvenate or broaden the study of the Italian language in their schools.”

In addition to receiving funding from MAECI, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit also raises funds independently through the hosting of events that bring together the local Italian-American communities, businesses, and private supporters.

Besides the funding from C.A.S.It., Brian Lynch, Canton’s new assistant superintendent of finance and operations, also announced donations of $12,027 from the CHS Graduation Celebration Fund to benefit all CHS students; cabinets for CHS valued at $1,000 from John Dolan Kitchen and Bath; and video equipment valued at $338 from CHS Class of 2024 graduate Mekhala Costello.

Also at last week’s meeting, School Committee members, acting on a recommendation from Lynch, authorized a $425,000 transfer from the town’s reserve fund to cover the remaining shortfall in the FY24 school budget.

Caused by a sudden and unexpected spike in special education transportation and tuition costs, the deficit had ballooned to $4.74 million but was reduced to a more manageable total of $424,784 after factoring in department transfers and grants and making full use of the town’s Special Education Reserve Account, which included $1.41 million set aside for FY24 and $1.6 million earmarked for FY25.

With the fund now depleted, Lynch has begun analyzing salaries, central services and other accounts to get a clearer picture of the projected deficit in FY25 before making his recommendations to the School Committee. He did note that there is a possibility that more funding could be coming from the state legislature to help communities with rising special education costs.

In other financial news, Lynch said he has identified three firms that could perform a comprehensive review of the School Department’s finances and offer recommendations for best practices to help the schools avoid sudden deficits. Lynch will now further delve into the scope of services and projected costs and then report his findings …

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jul 19 2024. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.