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Did Brockton’s mayor know about the looming school budget crisis? School Committee to discuss him behind closed doors.
Two new reports allege that Mayor Robert Sullivan could have known about the massive budget deficit months earlier than he's said in the past.
After two independent reports found that Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan could have known about the school’s devastating $18 million deficit before it was announced last year, the School Committee will discuss the mayor during a closed-door session Wednesday.
The committee will hold a session to discuss “the reputation, character, physical condition or mental health, rather than professional competence, of an individual or to discuss the discipline or dismissal of, or complaints or charges brought against” Sullivan, according to the meeting’s agenda. The discussion will be held during an executive session, meaning it will be closed to the public.
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The mayor, who chairs the School Committee, declined to comment on the upcoming meeting when reached by Boston.com.
Two independent reports released last week, one commissioned by the city and the other by the School Committee, found that general incompetence in budgeting and accounting, as well as a lack of oversight, led to the massive budget deficit that surprised the community and leaders.
The School Committee’s report found that Sullivan was potentially told about the deficit in April of 2023 but “was not able to confirm, based on the data available to us, whether such a meeting took place.”
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The city’s report, which was far more detailed than the School Committee’s, identified Sullivan as a “key player” in the budget process, along with the superintendent, school chief financial officer, the School Committee, and the city CFO.
Sullivan said at a February committee meeting he “was not made aware of a fiscal ‘23 deficit until the date of August 8th, and that’s a fact!”
The city’s report says the mayor, who was reelected to his third term last fall, knew about the deficit in March or April of 2023.
“Given its hands off approach, the School Committee was in the dark about the looming deficit. The City CFO and Mayor, however, were not,” the report, authored by Nystrom Beckman & Paris, said. “Yet no meaningful steps were taken during FY23 to confront and mitigate the looming financial crisis.”
The report lists multiple recommendations, including bridging the divide between the city and the school and replacing the chair of the School Committee with someone other than the mayor.
The report doesn’t just name Sullivan. Former Superintendent Mike Thomas took responsibility for the overspending last fall and resigned last week after the report found he often “did as he pleased.”
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It’s unclear what actions the School Committee could take against Sullivan as a result of the reports’ findings. City Solicitor Megan Bridges told the Brockton Enterprise that the School Committee “is not authorized with the ability to discipline a member.”
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