2023-03-02-AC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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03/02/2023 AC Minutes 4 The LPS enrollment for FY2024 is projected to decrease by 99 students. In response to a question as to whether this implies a corresponding decrease in positions, Mr. Coelho and Dr. Hackett said that, even if the enrollment does decrease, they won’t know the details of enrollment changes in each grade at each school which drive the needs for staff until the fall. Similar considerations apply for limited enrollment increases. In short, there is only a loose correspondence between enrollment and plans for staffing. The numbers and needs of special education students may change inde- pendently of the overall enrollment. Furthermore, the Covid pandemic has left many students with increased educational and wellness needs which depart from pre-Covid patterns, and that is affect- ing the needs for staff. An agreement was recently reached in contract negotiations with the SEIU union that represents school custodians and maintenance workers; this contract covers both school and municipal em- ployees. A one-year settlement with the ALA bargaining unit representing mid-level administrators is in place, and a 3-year agreement is being negotiated. Negotiations are ongoing with the teacher’s union. A redistricting plan went forward three or four years ago, and now the enrollments at each school are more or less balanced according to the sizes of the schools. The responsible state agency has approved a special education private school tuition increase of 14% for FY2024, but the expense budget to be appropriated doesn’t show a large increase. Mr. Coelho explained that, first, 12 of 143 out-of-district students will “age-out” in FY2024, and sec- ond, the Town’s Circuit Breaker reimbursements have been increasing and are, in part, applied as an offset against the private school out-of-district expense. In FY2025 and future fiscal years, these two mitigating factors will not reduce the total tuition expense so markedly, and the tuition expense line will grow. On the other hand, the Governor is increasing the pool of funds for the Circuit Breaker. Other Financial Articles The recommended appropriation for the OPEB liability under Article 17 includes $240,000 in tax levy funds that corresponds to the same amount being withdrawn from the Health Claims Trust Fund to support the operating budget. Ms. Kosnoff noted that this is close to the remaining balance in that trust fund. She said that the small amount left after this appropriation, including any interest, will be appropriated out at the following town meeting. Ms. Kosnoff said that staff have not had time this year to put together a list of capital articles that can be closed out and borrowing authority that can be rescinded. Mr. Bartenstein asked whether the amounts used in Article 5 for the MWRA assessments, have or will be changed from the Town’s original guess of a 10% increase to the MWRA’s preliminary fig- ure of a 5.2% increase. Ms. Kosnoff said that the amounts in the Brown Book have not been changed to reflect the preliminary 5.2% increase and likely would not be changed for this town meeting. In most years, the appropriation is revised at a fall special town meeting after the final MWRA assessments have been released. That is the plan for this year. Mr. Levine asked Mr. Kanter about the CEC report on the Public Facilities projects and whether he could share the relevant section of the CEC draft report. Mr. Kanter responded in the affirmative. Report Schedule Mr. Parker expressed concern that the Committee is behind schedule regarding the completion of our report. Mr. Bartenstein said that it would be helpful to have another week.