For Immediate Release – October 14, 2025
Issued by: Vote Pina Committee
Contact: [email protected] | www.votepina.com | (508) 368-8576

The Politics of Shortfalls

When Brockton’s school buses nearly stopped running in early 2025, City Hall acted shocked. The truth is, they knew this was coming. For five straight years, the mayor’s office and city council intentionally underfunded school transportation during the budget process—then used the resulting deficit as political theater.¹

The pattern is simple:

1. Cut millions from the School Committee’s non-net funding request;
2. Wait until buses can’t be paid for;
3. Release the funds at the last minute while claiming fiscal heroism.

This cycle of crisis and bailout isn’t fiscal discipline—it’s manipulation at the expense of students and staff.

---

Election-Year Strategy Disguised as “Oversight”

In FY2025, the School Committee requested $18 million to cover known transportation costs. Mayor Robert Sullivan’s administration approved just $11 million, holding back the other $7 million “pending review.”² Councilor John Lally admitted the plan was to “see how they perform” before releasing the rest—despite two prior audits warning that such underfunding was destabilizing school finances.³

For a detailed breakdown of five years of transportation funding data and audit findings, see our companion report, Setting the Record Straight on Brockton’s $10 Million Transportation Shortfall.

By February 2025, the predictable happened: Brockton faced a $10 million transportation deficit, forcing the council to raid reserves to approve an emergency $6 million transfer—which still wasn’t enough to cover the year.⁴

As Councilor Win Farwell put it, “We’re losing control over transportation costs and it’s going to strangle us.”⁵ What he didn’t say is that this crisis was engineered through City Hall’s own choices.

---

Audit Findings Ignored

Independent auditors from Open Architects and external reviews found a clear pattern of city-driven underfunding, calling it a “shell game” that left schools in perpetual shortfall.⁶

Their report concluded:

“The City of Brockton intentionally under-budgeted transportation and relied on midyear transfers to fill gaps, creating a cycle of instability and public confusion.”⁷

Despite these findings, the mayor’s FY2024 and FY2025 budgets repeated the same behavior—slashing requested funds and blaming the schools when the inevitable deficits appeared.

---

Why This Matters

This isn’t just a bookkeeping issue—it’s a trust issue. Brockton taxpayers deserve transparency, not political theater. Families depend on reliable transportation and safe, well-funded schools, not games that score points at election time.

“As a veteran and father, I know accountability starts at the top,” said Stephen Pina, candidate for Ward 1 School Committee.

“Year after year, the city plays politics with our kids’ education, while residents pay the price. Brockton deserves leadership that tells the truth about the numbers and plans for the future—not optics for headlines.”

---

The Path Forward

The Vote Pina Committee calls for reforms to end the mayor’s budget shell game and restore fiscal honesty:

1. Zero-Based Budgeting: Every department must start at zero and justify every dollar.
2. Independent Oversight: Quarterly reviews of city–school funding agreements.
3. Transparency Dashboard: Publish non-net funding requests, approvals, and actuals online.
4. Long-Term Planning: Fund essential services—like transportation—based on need, not political timing.

---

About the Vote Pina Committee

The Vote Pina Committee supports Stephen Pina, a U.S. Army Ranger Veteran, Brockton native, and business leader running for Ward 1 School Committee. His campaign champions transparency, accountability, and results-driven leadership for the City of Champions.

---

Press Contact:
Vote Pina Committee
[email protected] | www.votepina.com | (508) 368-8576

---

References

1. The Enterprise, “’Enough is enough’: Brockton school busing could be $10M in the hole. How’d that happen?”, Chris Helms, Feb. 2025.
2. FY2025 City of Brockton Budget, City Council Proceedings, June 2024.
3. The Enterprise, “Brockton Council Approves $7M School Transportation Cut,” June 2024.
4. City Council Finance Committee Meeting Notes, Feb. 10, 2025; The Enterprise, Feb. 2025.
5. Councilor Win Farwell comments, City Council Meeting, Feb. 2025; quoted in The Enterprise, Feb. 2025.
6. Open Architects Independent Audit Report, 2024, Section 11.6.7–11.6.8.
7. Ibid.