2012-03-ATM-SPTM-AC-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE REPORT TO THE MARCH 2012 ATM & STM understand the appropriation request in the context of revenue sources that include funds from state, federal, and other sources that do not have to be appropriated. Three non -grant revenue sources, outside the tax levy, are the Avalon Bay Mitigation Fund, the LABBB credit and the Special Education Circuit Breaker Reimbursement funds. • The FY2013 school budget appropriation includes $250,000 to be transferred from the Avalon Bay Student Mitigation Fund. This appropriation will offset projected declines in state and federal title grants of about the same amount. After this transfer, the Fund will have a balance of approximately $297,000 available for FY2014. • In FY2013 the School System will also use a $250,000 credit from the LABBB program in partial payment of Lexington's LABBB bills. Lexington, Arlington, Burlington, Bedford, and Belmont comprise the LABBB collaborative. LABBB provides educational and support services for over 250 special needs students from over 60 districts. Several years ago, the LABBB program had an uncommitted balance that was allocated to the participating towns. Lexington's current LABB credit is approximately $600,000. • The FY2013 budget includes a projected Special Education Circuit Breaker Reimbursement rate of 60 %. While this estimated rate for FY2013 is somewhat lower than the present actual 65% reimbursement rate, it is significantly higher than the 40% reimbursement rate assumed in the FY2012 budget. The Circuit Breaker revenues in FY2013 will allow the district to reduce the appropriation for out of district placements by $760,000 in comparison to FY2012, though out -of- district tuition expenses continue to grow. With regard to federal grants, the Town is losing the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act ($37,654) and Education Jobs Fund Program ($548,918) federal grant funds in FY2013. However, increased Chapter 70 and Special Education Circuit Breaker funds are compensating for these losses. It should be noted that the FY2013 budget includes a projected Special Education Circuit Breaker Reimbursement rate of 60% allowing the district to reduce the appropriation for out of district placements by $760,000 in comparison to FY2012, though out -of- district tuition expenses continue to grow. The estimated 60% reimbursement rate for FY2013 is lower than the present actual 65% reimbursement rate and higher than the 40% reimbursement rate assumed in the FY2012 budget. Fee Reductions Eliminate Full -Day Kindergarten Fees Since kindergarten is considered to be a core instructional program, the School Committee seeks to eliminate full -day kindergarten fees. In FY2012, almost all kindergarten students in the district attended the full -day program, and the fees were $1,075 per child. In recent years, the full-day kindergarten program has relied on two funding sources: a $270,000 kindergarten grant from the State and $378,400 in parent fees. Under the proposed FY2013 budget, the fees will be eliminated. The school department has asked for a one -time appropriation of $79,024 from the Town to help cover the loss of fee revenue in FY2013 (which will not alter the revenue allocation formula). Kindergarten funding will also use a State kindergarten grant of $230,000, and the remainder will come from the school operating budget. The State's formula for Chapter 70 aid counts a student paying a fee for half of their school time as only half a student. By eliminating the kindergarten fee the Town will be able to claim full credit for its kindergarten students and this will boost Chapter 70 aid. However, the additional aid will be delayed until FY2014 because of a lag in the way Chapter 70 aid is calculated and distributed. The increased aid starting in FY2014 would be more than double the one -time appropriation for FY2013. Nevertheless, the Town may need to reassess the funding for kindergarten if the State kindergarten grant is lost. 10