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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE-2019 ATM
<br /> • PreK-22 out-of-district placement.
<br /> This table shows student enrollments for the past two years and the enrollment projected for the fall of
<br /> 2019. The decrease in enrollment at the elementary level from October 1,2017,to October 1,2018 was the
<br /> first decline in over ten years. Therefore, confidence in the projection of another decrease is not high. In
<br /> any case, there is uncertainty associated with any projection. The budget includes 3 new FTEs to cover
<br /> potential increases in regular education staff and 4.6 new FTEs to cover increases in special education staff
<br /> in case the enrollment increases go beyond the projections listed in the table below (but not beyond esti-
<br /> mated 90% confidence upper limits on the enrollment increases). If the increases do not materialize, the
<br /> positions will not be filled and the corresponding amounts will not be spent.
<br /> Official Official Projected FY2020
<br /> Oct. 1,2017 Oct. 1,2018 Enrollment(Cohort
<br /> Enrollment Enrollment Survival Method)
<br /> Early Childhood 73 69 74
<br /> Elementary 3,153 3,094 3,077
<br /> Middle School 1,810 1,833 1,862
<br /> High School 2,220 2,263 2,349
<br /> Total K-12 7,256 7,259 7,362
<br /> The FY2019 LPS METCO program includes a total of 215 students, with 50 receiving special education
<br /> services. LPS projects it will receive $1,597,800 in state aid for FY2020 for the METCO program. The
<br /> METCO enrollment has been as high as 240 students and the Director is planning to increase the FY2020
<br /> enrollment to 225 students. Based on this number, the projected state aid averages to $7,101 per METCO
<br /> student.
<br /> Special Education Costs Including Out-of-District Tuitions
<br /> The PreK-22 Special Education budget of$34,544,589 makes up 30.1%of the overall budget.This amount
<br /> is a 5.1% increase from the FY2019 budget of$32,872,564.This increase is consistent with the growth of
<br /> the overall School Department budget.
<br /> For out-of-district placements, $7,319,617 is requested for FY2020. This amount is after the use of three
<br /> offsets (pre-paid tuitions/LABBB credit, IDEA grant, and Circuit Breaker).
<br /> Before offsets, the projected total out-of-district tuition expense is $12,488,807, an amount that is slightly
<br /> more than that budgeted for FY2019,i.e., $12,168,194,but slightly less than the current FY2019 projection
<br /> of$12,570,129. The FY2020 amount is based on a decrease in the projected number of students, relative
<br /> to the current FY2019 out-of-district number, from 173 to 149.
<br /> Funding Sources Not Subject to Appropriation
<br /> The annual appropriation from the Town supports the majority of the school budget.However,the complete
<br /> school budget includes additional funds from state, federal and other sources that are not subject to appro-
<br /> priation by Town Meeting and are therefore not included in this request. The amounts of these funds vary
<br /> year to year. Brief discussions of some of these funds follow:
<br /> • Federal Grants—For FY2020, the School Department projects that it will receive $2,099,704 in
<br /> federal grants, comparable to the amount that was received in FY2019.
<br /> • State Grants — The Town receives grants from the state to support METCO and School Health.
<br /> State grants do not include cherry-sheet local aid for education, because local aid is considered
<br /> General Fund revenue. The School Health Grant valued at$112,799 was awarded under a program
<br /> that is being reconfigured for FY2020 to a competitive program. The School Department has ap-
<br /> plied for the grant, but, given the uncertainty in whether it will be awarded, the FY2020 budget
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