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AC–2015ATM PPROPRIATIONOMMITTEE Warrant Article Analysis and Recommendations FundsFundingCommittee Article 4: Appropriate FY2016 RequestedSourceRecommendation Operating Budget Approve (8-0) $193,549,110See Motion The operating budget consists of Education (1000), Shared Expenses (2000), and Municipal (3000-8000) programs. Major components of the operating budget are discussed below. Each major section of this request is discussed separately below. FundsFunding RequestedSource Program 1100: Lexington Public Schools $92,060,316See Motion Overview The School Committee has voted to recommend a FY2016 appropriation of $92,060,316 for school oper- ating expenses. The request represents an increase of $5,436,387 or 6.28% above the FY2015 appropria- tion. The primary drivers of the FY2016 request include contractual requirements such as collective bar- gaining agreements; legal requirements for special education and transportation services; enrollments in- creases; and programmatic improvements including improved social and emotional well-being support for students. In the FY2016 request, there are increases above “level service” amounts for contractual increases, and for the addition of 46.61 FTE (a 4.71% increase) in staff to address legal requirements, enrollment in- creases and programmatic improvements. The increased staffing under this request resulted in $623,783 added to the Shared Expenses budget for the benefits associated with the new positions. The additional 46.61 FTE positions address a variety of needs. Based on projected enrollment increases, the budget includes funds for 12.1 general education teachers, 3.0 additional K-5 teachers and 0.45 spe- cialists. The staff increase allows for the implementation of the second phase of the Intensive Learning Program to address the needs of special needs students from grade 9 through age 22, with 9.36 educators and support staff, and a 0.75 transition coordinator. An additional 12.46 pre-K to grade 12 support posi- tions are required by projections of the number of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Other increases in staff include: 1.0 guidance counselor at Lexington High School (LHS), 0.5 guidance counselor at Bridge Elementary, 0.4 social worker at LHS and 3.0 social workers across all six elementary schools to promote social and emotional wellness, as well as 0.7 nurse district-wide and a 0.2 nurse at Clarke. There is a significant decline in this year’s request for special education out-of-district tuition. Relative to FY2015, the School Committee has reduced by 50% the amount held in reserve for students at risk of needing out-of-district placement. In the recent past, the reserve was calculated as 100% funding for an annual increase of 20 to 25 students requiring selected placements. During every school year, the school system handles the addition of new students, terminations of out-of-district placements of other students, along with changes in existing placements. This budget reserve has been reduced by 50% based on past experience during fiscal years 2011-2014 when significant amounts were returned to the Town from this line item. 6