2019-03-25-AC-ATM-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE-2019 ATM assumes no school health grant funds will be received.The School Department projects that it will receive $1,597,800 in a state grant in FY2020 through the METCO program. • "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 Revolving Account, do not require further appropriation, and must be expended by the following June 30. For FY2020, with a projected reimbursement rate of 65%, the Circuit Breaker reimbursement is projected to be $3,378,350. Fee Programs Fees for participants in certain programs, such as preschool, athletics, and transportation, support those programs in whole or in part. Detailed information about the fees and proposed fee changes may be found in the"Revenue Offsets" section of the LPS Budget Book. Regional Schools (1200) Summary The Minuteman Regional High School(MRHS)Committee has approved aFY2020 budget of$22,768,830, a$1,608,689 increase(7.6%)over FY2019. The increase is the net effect of a 3.38%increase in the cost of operations and a$1,027,803 increase in debt costs attributable to construction of the new MRHS building. Lexington's assessment is $2,470,131, of which $618,510 is Lexington's share of the debt service for the new school building. This budget funds the opening and operations of the new school building,designed for an enrollment of up to 628 students. Current high school enrollment is 516 students, of which 354 students come from the 10 member towns of the school district, and 262 students from out-of-district communities. While enrollment is at an all-time low level,there are signs that the new building will help to revive recruitment.Applications from in-district towns are up 10%for the upcoming freshman class.Additionally,the district is committing staff,resources, and parent representatives towards recruitment. Increased enrollment would spread fixed overhead out over more students,reducing the per student cost. Minuteman's per-student cost remains the highest in the state and is significantly higher than other regional vocational-technical schools. One factor is that Minuteman has a significantly lower student-teacher ratio when compared to the same group of schools. A fully enrolled school would bring down per-student costs and help bring this ratio into line with those similar schools.Another contributing factor is that Minuteman has 46.5% of its students enrolled in special education, the highest level of any public school in the state. This level is similar for both in-district and out-of-district students. The assessment to the Town of Lexington is increasing by$343,914, or 16.2%,over last year's assessment. While the per-student operating assessment has increased only 6.7%, the debt service costs allocated to Lexington have risen 23%. District Developments A special district-wide vote held in 2016 secured approval for the construction of a new $144.9 million school building to replace the aging current facility. Construction is under way and appears to be on-budget and on-schedule for occupancy in fall 2019. The cost of this project is offset by almost $44 million from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The remaining balance is financed with bonded debt.The debt service will be funded via the assessments to district members,and by a new state-authorized facilities fee for capital costs charged to a non-member towns that enroll students at the school. Lexington 14