2020-03-25-AC-ATM-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE-2.020 ATM 25 March 2020 The FY2020 LPS METCO program includes a total of 223 students. The METCO enrollment has been as high as 240 students. The target FY2021 enrollment is approximately 230 students. In the current school year(FY2020), a total of 1,072 students are on IEPs. Of these, 950 are in-district and 122 students are out-of-district placements. The overall proportion of K-12 students on IEPs is roughly 15%,which is similar to the ratio in comparable communities. Special Education Costs Including Out-of-District Tuitions For at least the past five years, special education costs have tended to rise at a higher rate than other parts of the LPS operating budget. SPED expenses amounted to 32.67%of the actual expenditures in FY2019, are 33.77%of the budget for FY2020, and represent 33.37%of the request for FY2021. The FY2021 request for out-of-district tuition,$8,229,139 represents a 12.4%increase over the correspond- ing FY2020 amount. The requested amount will be supplemented by three non-appropriated sources of funds (pre-paid tuitions/LABBB credit, IDEA grant, and state Circuit Breaker reimbursements). Funding Sources Not Subiect 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 appro- priation by Town Meeting and are therefore not included in this request. The amounts of these funds vary year to year. Brief discussions of some of these funds follow: • Federal Grants— For FY2021,the School Department projects that it will receive $2,188,702 in federal grants,unchanged from the FY2020 budget projection. • State Grants—As noted above,the School Department projects that it will receive $1,609,326 in FY2021 from the state METCO program. Based on an enrollment of 230 students, the projected state aid averages to $6,997 per METCO student. Cherry-sheet local aid for education is treated as General Fund revenue and is not included in state grants. • "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 June 30 of the following fiscal year. The Lexington Public Schools current practice is to apply the funds received in a given fiscal year(based on SPED expenses in the prior fiscal year)as a revenue offset in the following fiscal year. For example, LPS will receive (or has received) a reimbursement in FY2020 based on FY2019 SPED expenses and will use that reimbursement to offset SPED costs in FY2021. The District projects that $4,070,391 received in FY2020 will be available for expenditure in FY2021. With a projected reimbursement rate of 70%, the Circuit Breaker reimbursement in FY2021 is projected to be $3,991,255. 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 High School (1200) Lexington's FY2021 projected assessment for the Minuteman Regional High School (MRHS) of $2,863,147 represents an increase of$393,016, or 15.9%, over FY2020. It follows on the prior year's in- crease of 16.2%and an increase of 27.3%from FY2018 to FY2019. The current increase primarily reflects three factors: (1) Lexington's enrollment growing from 52 to 62 students, (2) Belmont withdrawing from 8