2017-03-21-AC-ATM-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE-ATM 2017 The FY2018 budget includes a reduction of 1.49 FTE for the Special Education Department even while over- all District enrollment and staffing is growing. This is the result of diligent review of staffing needs at all lev- els during the budget process ensuring that positions are re-assigned based on shifts in student serving de- mands. Funding Sources Not Subject to Appropriation The annual appropriation from the Town supports the majority of the school budget. However, the complete school budget includes additional funds from state, federal and other sources that are not subject to appropria- tion by Town Meeting and are therefore not included in this request. The amounts of these funds vary year to year. A brief listing of some of these follows: • Federal Grants —For FY2018, the School Department projects that it will receive $2,058,585 in fed- eral grants, the same amount that was received in FY2017. • State Grants —The Town receives grants from the state to support METCO, School Health, and Spe- cial Education Program Improvement. State grants do not include cherry-sheet local aid for education, because local aid is considered to be General Fund revenue. The School Department projects that it will receive $1,674,044 in state grants in FY2018,the same amount it received in FY2017. • "Circuit Breaker" Reimbursements — Reimbursements are received from the state when the costs of special education services for an individual student, whether in-district or out-of-district, exceed a multiple of four times the statewide foundation budget. In the past, reimbursement rates have varied between 35% and 75% of the tuition cost. Circuit breaker reimbursement funds are paid to the district quarterly based on the prior year's approved claims. Funds received go into the Circuit Breaker Re- volving Account, do not require further appropriation, and must be expended by the following June 30. For FY 2018, with the projected reimbursement rate of 70%, the estimated Circuit Breaker reim- bursement is $2,881,291. Fee Programs Fees for participants in certain programs, such as preschool, athletics, and transportation, support those pro- grams in whole or in part. No changes in fee rates are anticipated in FY2018, except that the school bus fee for those paying after July 1, 2017 will be increased incrementally based on the full cost per seat in FY2018. More detailed information about the School Committee recommended budget is available at http://lps.lexingtonma.org/Page/9714 Funds Requested Funding Source Line Item 1200: Regional Schools $1,670,351 GF The Minuteman Regional High School (MRHS) Committee has approved an FY2018 budget of$19,449,466, a$278,631 decrease (-1.4%) from FY2017. The $278,631 decrease is the net effect of a 1.7% decrease in the costs of operations and a 3.5% increase in debt costs attributable to design planning for a new MRHS build- ing. The FY2018 budget reflects a reduced high school enrollment of 597 students and conversion to a career academy model of education. The goal is to create a smaller school with a higher percentage of in-district stu- dents that can still offer a diverse and high quality selection of relevant education and training opportunities. The plan is for the transition to the new model to be completed in time for the beginning of school in the fall of 2019 and the occupancy of the new building. Notwithstanding the decrease in the MRHS budget, the assessment to the Town of Lexington is increasing by $292,902, or 21.6%, over last year's assessment. The primary factors for this year's extraordinary assessment increase are: an increase by 4 of the number of Lexington students attending MRHS; an increase in Lexing- 10