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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE REPORT TO THE MARCH 2013 ATM
<br />rectly to the School Department without the need for appropriation. A brief discussion of some of these
<br />revenue sources is given below.
<br />
<br />Federal grants – For FY2014, the School Department projects that it will receive $1,900,000 in feder-
<br />al grants, the same amount that was received in FY2013. However, because of the uncertainties en-
<br />gendered by the sequestration of funds in the federal budget, the recommended FY2014 Town budget
<br />includes $750,000 set aside as a resource to be available for appropriation later in case of unexpected
<br />reductions at the federal and state levels. Federal grant funds are not subject to appropriation by Town
<br />Meeting and are not included in the $81,313,963 request.
<br />
<br />State grants – For FY2014, the School Department projects that the total amount that will be received
<br />in state grant revenue will be the same as in FY2013, namely $1,725,698. The grants include those for
<br />METCO, School Health, Academic Support, Full-Day Kindergarten, and Special Education Program
<br />Improvement. These funds are not subject to appropriation by Town Meeting.
<br />
<br />Circuit breaker reimbursements come from the Commonwealth when the cost of special education
<br />services for an individual student, whether in or out of district, exceeds four times the statewide foun-
<br />dation budget. During the last five years, the School Department began to carefully evaluate in-
<br />district special education costs and to identify costs for which reimbursements could be sought. This
<br />process was a major factor in the increase in the total number of students for whom the reimburse-
<br />ment was claimed between FY2008 (70) and FY2012 (110).
<br />During the same period, reimbursement rates have varied between 40% and 72%. The projected re-
<br />imbursement rate used for budgeting purposes was 60% in FY2013 while the actual reimbursement
<br />rate was 70%. For FY2014, a rate of 70% is assumed for budget purposes. Given this assumed rate
<br />and a base of 106 students, the total reimbursement for FY2014 is estimated to be $2,629,751. The
<br />comparable estimate for FY2013 was $2,318,438.
<br />Because of this increase in the projected reimbursement and the shift of students from out-of-district
<br />placements to in-district programs, the amount in the budget request for support of out-of district spe-
<br />cial education costs is $5,267,812 which is 5.75% lower than the corresponding FY2013 amount. Cir-
<br />cuit breaker reimbursement funds are not subject to appropriation by Town Meeting, and are not in-
<br />cluded in the budget request under this Article.
<br />
<br />The FY2014 school budget request assumes $250,000 presently in the Avalon Bay Student Enroll-
<br />ment Mitigation Stabilization Fund will be transferred to the School Department by appropriation by
<br />Town Meeting. After this transfer, the Fund will have a $47,000 balance.
<br />
<br />In FY2014 the School Department is planning to use a $250,000 credit from the LABBB program in
<br />partial payment of Lexington’s LABBB bills. Lexington, Arlington, Burlington, Bedford, and Bel-
<br />mont comprise the LABBB collaborative. LABBB provides educational and support services for over
<br />250 special needs students from over 60 districts. Several years ago, the LABBB program had an un-
<br />committed balance that was allocated to the participating towns. In FY2015, Lexington’s LABB cred-
<br />it will be more than $100,000. The LABBB credit is not subject to appropriation by Town Meeting.
<br />
<br />In FY2014, the component of Chapter 70 aid (a major part of state aid) specifically attributable to
<br />kindergarten costs is expected to increase following the Lexington Public Schools elimination of fees
<br />for full-day kindergarten in September 2013. Chapter 70 kindergarten aid is calculated on the basis of
<br />the program in the previous year. Therefore, in FY2014, Chapter 70 aid will include full credit for
<br />each kindergarten student (instead of half credit) for the first time. However, given the uncertainties
<br />in the state budget, and in the non-kindergarten components of Lexington’s Chapter 70 aid, only the
<br />total amount to be received in state aid was used in setting the baseline municipal/school revenue
<br />split. For the FY2014 budget, the overall amount of state aid is projected to be the same as it was for
<br />FY2013.
<br />FY2014 status of programs for which parental fees were eliminated in FY2013
<br />In FY2013, the School Department eliminated fees for full-day kindergarten. To do so, it used a one-time
<br />appropriation of $79,024 from the Town, a State kindergarten grant of $230,000, and school operating
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