Press Release: 12/3/2025

OIG Calls Brockton Public Schools $18 Million Budget Deficit a Critical Failure of Leadership

 

IG Shapiro calls on Brockton Public Schools to adopt "meaning oversight" after review of FY23 Budget Deficit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

12/03/2025

MEDIA CONTACT

Carrie Kimball, Communications Officer

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Call Carrie Kimball, Communications Officer at 617-722-8894

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Email Carrie Kimball, Communications Officer at carrie.c.kimball@mass.gov

BROCKTON, MA — Inspector General Jeffrey S. Shapiro called on Brockton city and school leaders to adopt “meaningful oversight” of Brockton Public Schools (BPS) finances following a review of the financial practices and oversight controls of the city and the BPS.  The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted the review to identify lapses that contributed to BPS’s unprecedented $18 million deficit in Fiscal Year 2023. The OIG’s review focused on individual roles and responsibilities and financial controls rather than on the amount of the deficit, because multiple audits have thoroughly analyzed and reported on these elements.

“The unprecedented FY23 BPS deficit was caused by a collection of failures to properly plan the BPS budget, monitor spending, and respond to clear warning signs,” IG Shapiro said in a letter released today.  “The BPS FY23 budget crisis can largely be attributed to the inaction of individuals at every step of the budget planning and budget management phases.  The OIG cannot overstate the fact that a failure of leadership by key BPS leaders allowed this fiscal crisis to occur.”

“State finance law is simple. Government entities may not spend more dollars than they have available, regardless of any rationale for doing so, no matter how noble.” IG Shapiro said. “By not recognizing and addressing clear indications of the ballooning budget deficit, the BPS CFO, the superintendent, school committee members, and the mayor violated their fiduciary duty to BPS, the city, and the people of Brockton whom they serve, which resulted in the mismanagement of a significant amount of public dollars entrusted to BPS in FY23.” 

The OIG review found that BPS leadership built its budget on unrealistic enrollment projections, did not act on early indicators of budget problems; the measures ultimately implemented by BPS leadership in FY23 were not strictly enforced and were not proportionate to the scale of the deficit; the school committee and its chair, the mayor of Brockton, did not use available financial reports or other information throughout the year; and the school committee and the mayor did not act meaningfully to address BPS’s deteriorating financial condition.   

The OIG also found that BPS finance staff alerted BPS leadership as early as July 2023 that expenditures for out-of-district tuition, transportation, and contracts were increasing and not appropriately budgeted and declining enrollment resulted in less state aide due to a formula used across the state.  The OIG could not find any evidence that these concerns from budget office staff were elevated from the CFO to the superintendent, nor was there evidence that based upon these reports that the superintendent took appropriate action to curb spending or control the budget. Instead, the opposite occurred.   This pattern of overspending continued over the following months without any acknowledgement or action on the part of BPS senior leadership, including the superintendent.

Additionally, despite receiving monthly budget reports which contained information that showed that many expense line items were exceeding projections, the school committee did not discuss, much less attempt to address, the mounting deficit. While sources advised the OIG that many school committee members at the time lacked a finance or accounting background, “the budgetary fiscal cliff facing the BPS was so significant it should not have required any specialized budgetary or accounting acumen to fully understand the scope of the problem and the urgency to act,” IG Shapiro said.

The OIG made seven specific recommendations to the city and BPS to establish fiscal policies and practices that ensure every individual involved in preparing and overseeing the budget understands their roles and can be held accountable for their actions or inactions.  While the city is currently considering whether to seek amendments to Chapter 324 of the Acts of 1990 (Chapter 324), a legislative act that imposed an array of further controls over the city’s finances, IG Shapiro believes the issue is more fundamental.  “Ultimately, this crisis occurred because the people entrusted to manage the public’s money - school committee, the superintendent and the mayor – failed to understand their basic responsibilities,” IG Shapiro said. Shapiro further cautioned, “No law can ensure that city and school leaders read reports, and act upon such information.”