A First Look at Recommended FY13 School Budgets

Superintendent of Schools Paul Ash on Tuesday presented his fiscal 2013 level services and recommended budgets for the Lexington Public Schools, both of which came in below available funding.

It was, Ash said, the first time he’s done that in 15 years of presenting budgets to school committees. This was also the first time Ash has seen special education tuition costs decrease, the superintendent said.

Ash’s FY13 level services budget — which meets special education legal requirements, funds contractual requirements and adjusts instructional expense budgets only for inflation — came in at $75,765,721, a 3.58 percent increase over the FY12 budget.

But his recommended budget for fiscal 2013, which adds in program improvements such as a technology integration specialist, an IT field technician and school support personnel, totals $76,306,566, a 4.17 percent increase over FY12.

According to Ash, he and Town Manager Carl Valente have collectively decided not to spend all the way up to the projected revenue allocation and opted to shift leftover cash to the capital side, where they believe the monies would be well spent.

More on Special Education

Both the LPS level services and recommended budgets incorporate $250,000 from the Avalon Fund, a $250,000 LABBB credit and Circuit Breaker reimbursement at 60 percent.

The Circuit Breaker increasing to 60 percent was a big reason for the decreasing special education costs, which are down $761,351. But an even bigger factor was the work done by special education support staff, who have gone through each individualized education plan (IEP) to make claims against the Circuit Breaker, according to Ash, who said it’s rare that a district files claims for in-district students. 

“Our rough estimate of what we picked up by getting the extra claims paid for is an additional $800,000,” Ash said.

Bringing in revenue as classroom teachers provide strong general education and educators improve in-house support has helped the Lexington Public Schools manage the still-rising costs of out-of-district tuition. 

“This one is a tremendous success story that was not my success,” Ash said, commending teachers, principals and special ed staff for their work.

Possible Fee Reductions and What Happens Now

The School Committee did not engage in any in-depth discussion about Ash’s presented budgets on Tuesday, and is not expected to vote on a budget until Feb. 14. However, Ash said if committee members have changes they’d like to see made, now is the time to speak up.

For example, Ash’s presentation included possible fee reductions showing what it would cost to reduce ’s bussing fee by half and eliminate the instrumental music and kindergarten fees. Ash told the committee members that if they want to see all or any of the fees reduced, they should figure out which, what it would look like and how they want to cover the cost.

“This is the time,” Ash said Tuesday night. “If the committee members want to pursue fee reductions, my recommendation is [you] say so.”

Of particular interest was the proposal to eliminate the kindergarten fee, while recent months have seen some .

“I’m in favor of eliminating the kindergarten fee, because I do not believe in paying for public education,” said School Committee member Alessandro Alessandrini. “I think that’s something we should think about if possible.”