Brockton parents demand answers on school budget shortfall

Parents in Brockton, Massachusetts, voiced their frustration Wednesday over a major deficit in the school budget.

Mayor Robert Sullivan informed the public last week that Brockton Public Schools were short more than $14 million from last year's budget. In a packed auditorium, he told parents at a meeting after the first day of school that he learned of the deficit Aug. 8.

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"I was outraged," he said. "I was shocked when I learned about the FY23 deficit."

Sullivan, who's also the school committee chairman, and other members said they didn't know about the multimillion dollar deficit.

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"This took us by surprise. I still have questions and answers of like how this happened," Brockton School Committee member Tony Rodrigues said. "Don't Monday-quarterback this, because you don't know what's happening. I don't know what's happening. This whole body doesn't know what's happening until we conduct this audit."

Officials being caught off-guard by the misspending did not go over well with the public.

"The reason this money is missing is because of the mayor and the school committee members' actions or inactions," one woman said.

"I think that it's a problem that you were surprised about this," said a man at the meeting. "You shouldn't be surprised, we shouldn't be surprised, and I hope we can avoid more surprises about this in the future."

School officials in the Plymouth County city have been trying to reassure parents and staff that last fiscal year's budget shortfall will not impact the start of school, but concerns remain as to how the district will make up for the money.

In a written statement, Sullivan announced steps he's taking "to ensure nothing like this will ever occur again."

He said Brockton Public Schools' chief financial officer, Aldo Petronio, and the district's deputy financial officer, Chris Correia, had been placed on leave.

The city's chief financial officer, Troy Clarkson, will monitor all school department expenditures, Sullivan said.

Additionally, the mayor said Brockton is working with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and has reached out to Auditor Diana DiZoglio and the Office of the Inspector General. Sullivan added that he is "in the process of identifying and retaining a firm to conduct a financial audit of the City and the School Department."