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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE REPORT TO 2008 ATM —March 19, 2008 number of students is less than the original budget for FY2008, the budgeted increase in spending is the result of an assumed 5% inflation rate in tuition expenses for this student population as well as expense increases incurred when students change from one form of out -of- district school to another (usually more expensive) school. The FY2009 projection takes into account students currently in an out -of- district placement that are assumed to also start the FY2009 year out of district as well as an assumption about new out -of- district placements. The budget assumes that the number of out -of- district students in FY2009 will be less than the number recorded in January 2008, as the school administration expects that the in -house programs described below will continue to result in fewer students going out -of- district and some returning into the district. Out -of- district FY2008 FY2008 FY2009 % Increase budget budget estimate budget FY2008 Jan -9 -08 budget - FY2009 budget Total # students 111 107 100 -9.9% Total cost $6,912,198 $6,074,464 $6,988,951 +1.1% Circuit breaker $1,954,739 $2,047,607 $1,804,515 -7.7% Net cost to town $4,957,459 $4,026,857 $5,184,436 +4.6% Annually, the State reimburses Lexington for some of the costs associated with out -of- district placements - in other words, the assumed circuit breaker revenue in the FY2009 budget represents reimbursement of expenses incurred in FY2008, for which the Town will submit a claim in July 2008. The State will reimburse Lexington for 72 - 75% of the costs incurred above approximately $35,684 for each child placed out -of- district; transportation, however, is not currently eligible for reimbursement. The State allocates up to 75% if the claims do not exceed the State budget for such claims. The FY2009 budget assumes reimbursement of 72 %. Transportation Expenses for transportation of Special Education students are projected to increase by 19.3% to $1,252,602 in FY2009, from the FY2008 budgeted amount of $1,050,179.. The budgeted increase is the result of an anticipated increase in the number of both in- district and out -of- district students who will require transportation from 151 in the FY2008 budget to an assumed 168 in FY2009, inflation in the cost of transportation, plus assumptions about the nature of the transportation required for each student. Some students have changed from residential to day placements, for example, resulting in lower tuition costs but more frequent transportation requirements (daily vs. weekly). New programs As reported last year, the school administration initiated or expanded new programs in FY2008 aimed at increasing the ability of the schools to educate students within the system and therefore mitigate the increase in out -of- district expenses. An Intensive Learning Program (ILP) to serve students with autism was planned for each of the middle school and high school levels, while a third program, a Multidisciplinary Support Team (MST) for students identified as having emotional disabilities, was planned at the high school level. Students with these disabilities account for the majority of the out -of- district expenses, and the school administration projected that these programs would prevent a number of out -of- district placements in the future as well as bring students currently placed out -of- district back in- district. The programs were projected to cost $511,147 and result in savings of $1,376,454 million, for a net savings of $865,307 in the first year of the programs. Page 14 of 50