School Committee approves up to $30,000 audit of Hanscom contract finances

LINCOLN -- June 1, 2023, Lincoln School Committee orders up to $30,000 audit of Hanscom Air Force Base contract. The unanimous vote, presented by Director of Business and Finance Mary Ellen Normen, will fund an outside review of the district's full-cost-recovery contract with the federal government, the roughly $8 million Hanscom reserve, and questions raised by residents about whether Lincoln taxpayers are subsidizing services. Normen flagged two known gaps: active retiree healthcare reimbursements have grown to $34,500 for 23 retirees in FY23 from $27,000 for 18 in FY21, and the Middlesex County Retirement System's assessment of Hanscom employees is now under separate actuarial review. The committee also approved a first reading of an FY24 strategic plan built around the new "Portrait of a Learner" framework, reappointed Dr. David Geller as school physician, and voted $750 to dedicate the Hanscom Primary kindergarten playground as the "Brown Bear Playground" in memory of teacher Christine Portlock, who served from 1991 to 2022.