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01/30/2020 AC Minutes • Individual Education Programs (IEPs) are legally binding agreements between the school department and the parents/guardians of a special needs student. IEPs may identify a requirement for one-on-one assistance for the student. • For this school year, Lexington has approximately 122 special needs students who are placed out-of-district. Although this number fluctuates year-to-year, the percent of this population that are out-of-district remains reasonably constant. The availability of Minuteman Regional Technical High School does not impact this number. • Out-of-placement tuitions average approximately $75,000 per year. • The anticipated bubble for enrollment predicted for the high school may not similarly impact the number of special needs students. These students are served by the SPED program until they are 22 years old. • The fraction of the school budget that supports SPED has been increasing and is currently about 34%. There are a variety of reasons, which include increases in out-of-district tuitions. Dr. Hackett's comments regarding legal expenses associated with SPED programs included, but were not limited to, the following: • Legal costs have been reduced substantially; Lexington is taking advantage of free mediation that is offered by the State. Part of that process involves demonstrating to parents/guardians that the program being offered is the right approach for their child. • There are currently no outstanding legal issues; having adequate staffing is helpful. • It is not anticipated that changes implemented based on the audit would trigger lawsuits. Additionally, Dr. Hackett reported the following: • The five to ten reserve staff positions included in the budget are intended to be used"as needed"; these are for needs that are identified after school starts in the fall. • Although LPS is allowed to spend any funds within the appropriated school budget that are not needed in one area to address other school needs, the administration intends to refrain from spending any funds that are not truly needed. • Lexington receives funds from four outside sources: Chapter 70, entitlement funds, Medicaid, and an amount based on the State's"circuit breaker" program. State circuit breaker funds must be expended before the end of the next fiscal year. • In September 2020, the start times for the different school levels will change from the current times and a redistricting plan that requires two extra buses will be in place. • LPS has completed implementation of enhanced security at Lexington High School for which $382,000 had been appropriated. Additional funding for security has not been pursued for a variety of reasons, including the potential for rebuilding the high school. Minutes After a brief discussion, a motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes, as recently distributed by Mr. Levine, for January 14, 2020, and January 23, 2020. The motion passed. VOTE: 7-0 2020 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) Financial Articles and Report Planning Issues discussed relating to the preparation of the Committee report to the annual town meeting included, but were not limited to the following: • Ms. Kosnoff agreed to work with Mr. Padaki regarding the Recreation Enterprise Fund and how it is handled in the budget. 2