2014-03-ATM-AC-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE REPORT TO THE MARCH 2014 ATM Some of these sources require appropriation by Town Meeting while others go directly to the School De- partment without need for appropriation. An overview of these sources follows: · Federal Grants – For FY2015, the School Department projects that it will receive $1,888,395 in federal grants, the same amount that was received in FY2014. Federal grant funds are not subject to appropriation by Town Meeting and are not included in the $86,623,929 request. · State grants – For FY2015, the School Department projects that the total amount that will be re- ceived in state grant revenue will be the same as in FY2014, namely $1,750,411. The grants in- clude those for METCO, School Health, Academic Support, Full-Day Kindergarten, and Special Education Program Improvement. These funds are not subject to appropriation by Town Meeting. · Circuit breaker reimbursements come from the Commonwealth when the cost of special educa- tion services for an individual student, whether in or out of district, exceeds four times the statewide foundation budget. In the past, reimbursement rates have varied between 35% and 75% of the tuition cost. The School Department projects the FY2015 reimbursement rate will be the same as the actual FY2014 reimbursement rate of 75%. Given this assumed rate and a base of 123 students, the total reimbursement for FY2015 is estimated to be $2,950,250. Actual reimburse- ment for FY2014 was $2,876,202. Circuit breaker reimbursement funds are not subject to appro- priation by Town Meeting. · The FY2015 school budget request assumes that the remaining balance of about $49,088 in the Avalon Bay Student Enrollment Mitigation Stabilization Fund will be appropriated for the School Department budget by Town Meeting. · Fee Programs – Fees for participants were established for certain programs to support the indi- vidual program offerings by offsetting their costs. No fee changes for preschool or athletic pro- grams are anticipated in FY2015. Transportation Special education transportation is required to provide access to educational services for some students. This budget request is $230,000 larger than in FY2014 due to an increase in the number of both in-district and out-of-district students receiving transportation services. This request includes an increase of $5,000 for transportation of homeless students mandated by the McKinney-Vento Act. Since FY2012, Lexington has seen a rise in the number of homeless students attending the Lexington Public Schools. In FY2015, it is estimated that 21 homeless children will require transportation. For regular education transportation, ridership has increased, partly in response to subsidies implemented in FY2013. An increase of $128,254 is requested to cover FY2015 contract rates, to provide an additional bus, and to maintain subsidy and financial assistance programs. More detailed information about the FY2015 School Committee Recommended Budget is available at: http://lps.lexingtonma.org/Page/3787 FundsFunding RequestedSource Program 1200: RegionalSchools $1,244,384GF The Minuteman Regional High School (MRHS) Committee has accepted an FY2015 budget of $19,645,065, a $1,097,967 or 5.91% budget increase over FY2014. This increase consists of an 11% in- crease in the costs of operations and a 59% decrease in capital costs. This is a level services budget, de- signed to accommodate a greater number of students, while continuing to reevaluate staffing needs. In- district enrollment continues to increase at the school. Due to a lack of consensus among the District member towns, the school remains unable to initiate a MSBA approved renovations program to address unmet needs in Career and Technical Education facili- ties and equipment. This project process is in its sixth year and the delays have prompted the New Eng- 5