1. FY 17 Special Education Preliminary Budget
Presented to the Grafton School Committee
By Arnold Lundwall, Special Education Administrator
November 24, 2015

2. Key Questions and Variables
What are the budgetary needs for Grafton’s Special Education Department in Fiscal Year 2017?
What are the key indicators requiring any changes in funding?

3. SE Budget Considerations
Demographic Data
 add bullets about move-in numbers for past 2 years (30 each year), preK in 2012: 6 half-day sections; preK now: half day sections
Programming Needs
Personnel
Transportation
Therapeutic Services
Out-of-District Placement Costs
 bullet re: residential placement; move-ins; projected needs
Demographics: Oct 1 Count: 544 SE students (510 in 2014). Of Note: 17.34% (of 3138 total students) Oct 2014 was 16.13%
CB FY16: 334,104 from FY15 expenditures (FY14 was $307,903) – increase of $26,201
Grants: : projected FY17 = $387,122
# students move in to Grafton summer 2015 to present: 30 (same as last year)
PreK Students: last year at this time: moving toward an 8th section. Currently at 10 sections and looking at an 11th for January 2016

4. Budget Line Review Projected Costs Variable Expenditures Tuition
Transportation
Contracted Services (Therapeutic)

5. SE 4-Year Trends
Tuition FY17:, Occ ED, Mass Public, SE Private Day & Res, Collaborative: (16, , ,388, ,335 = 1,766,457 – 334,104 [CB] = $1,432,353) DELTA: +$428,305
Transportation FY17: In District + OOD: $615,759 (395,700, + 200,059) DELTA: +44,836
PL Grant offset: $387,122
Therapeutic FY17: Contracted Services, IA/Braille, Nursing: $593,182 (535, , ,370) DELTA: +33,825
Overall Delta for these three categories: FY16 to FY17 = $506,966

6. Tuition: A closer look
Total Budget Delta: +506, Total Tuition Delta: +428,305 (Combined delta for Transportation and Tuition: +78,661)
WHY THE SIGNIFICANT RISE AS COMPARED WITH LAST FY?
Student needs dictate specific, and sometimes intensive placement away from Grafton
Two students will become Grafton’s fiscal responsibility next FY (pre-existing IEPs)

7. Comparison FY16 to FY17
Tuition FY17: Occ Ed, SE Public Day, SE Private Day & Res, Collab: 1,432,353 (16, , ,388, ,335 – CB [334,104] = $1,432,353) DELTA: +428,305
Transportation FY17: In District + OOD: $617,759 (395,700, + 200,059) DELTA: -44,836
PL Grant offset: $387,122
Therapeutic FY16: Contracted Services, IA/Braille, Nursing: $593,182 (535, , ,370) DELTA: +$33,825
Total change: FY17 from FY16: +$506,966

8. Comparison FY16 to FY17 FY16 Budget FY17 Budget Delta Tuitions
1,004,048
1,432,353*
+428,305
Therapeutic
559,357
593,182
+33,825
Transportation
570,923
615,759
+44,836
TOTALS 
2,134,328
2,641,294
* CB offset of 334,104
+506,966
Tuition changes: student moving to residential placement 278,763), 2 students move in with combined tuition of approximately 120,000 (TLCD Schol) plus projected OOD students (3 students with potential OOD costs of 203,320: students: Devereux [49,773], GD at Perkins Day [114,070], AD at Carroll [39,477])

9. FY17 Transportation Type FY16 Budget FY17 Budget Delta In-District
322,784
395,700
+72,916
Out-of-District
248,139
220,059
-28,080
TOTALS 
570,923
615,759*
+44,836
PL 94 – 142 offset *1,002, ,122= 615,759
In-District is going up because of increased need for specialized transportation and general rate increases each year. Budgeting to have one more in-district route next year.
Some OOD routes will go up but the overall decrease in OOD transportation is do to student(s) going from day to residential and also we picked up a cost-share for one route.

10. Increased Costs Current: 10 sections PreK
Each section = 7 SE slots (8 if waivers required)
FY17: Anticipated growth to 12 or 13 sections
OOD Placement Considerations
OOD: 2 move-in students during FY16: no cost for this FY, but costs for next FY = roughly $120,000 for tuition alone. Transport for those two will be approximately 1/3 – 1/4 that cost.
Other: residential placement at well over $275,000 plus 3 students potentially requiring OOD to the amount of approximately: $203,000
BSC needs: currently at 2.8FTE… more?

11. Requirements, Recommendations, Considerations
Programming: PreK: space requirements, staffing
Out-Of-District considerations
Both Public and Private: stable trend
Personnel
Continued Professional Development / Support of District Initiatives
First bullet: 11th PreK section (January 2016) plus needs : teacher, paraprofessionals, related services (therapeutic)
Space requirements are becoming a concern at SGES and NGES. Use of a 3rd building (e.g.: MSES would be unwieldy)
BSC caseloads: review of data: growth, preK in particular