By Mitch Evans
At the January 24 School Committee meeting, Superintendent Jon Sills presented the final draft of his FY19 budget request. Committee members gave feedback and asked questions in preparation for the presentation of the budget to the Finance Committee on January 25. Here, in summary, are some of the key points.
An increase of 3.5% over last year’s approved budget was presented, bringing the total FY19 funding request to $40,428,716. This is broken down into:
- Maintenance of Effort (MoE)* budget request of $40,109,985
- Plus budget expansion request of $636,730
*Maintenance of effort refers to the minimum amount of funding the town (or, local education agency) must provide its school system under state law. It is based on student enrollment from the preceding year — in this case, 2,662 students for the 2017/18 school year, versus the projected 2,682 students that the school system is predicting in 2018/19.
There are two main drivers of this year’s 3.5% budget increase. The first and perhaps not surprisingly is the continued increase in enrollment figures. Currently, a 13.7% increase in student numbers is projected for next fiscal year. The second key influence is the in-district enrollment of children requiring special education services. As of October 2017, 405 students with varying special educational needs are enrolled in the district school system compared to 316 in 2010.
In keeping with Bedford’s long-established policy on inclusion and the vision of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; educational services are provided within the context of the regular classroom whenever possible. The SAIL (Students Achieving Independent Learning) and the BRIDGE program are examples of two of these specialized inclusion programs which offer safe, therapeutic environments that provide academic, behavioral and social/emotional supports that improve functioning in all areas. Specially trained teachers and support staff across all four schools are helping to ensure that more children are being successfully educated within either a regular classroom or in a sub separate environment. A sub separate area is a substantially separate classroom, also known as a self-contained classroom, outside of the general education setting for children with significant learning needs. These classrooms serve students who require a highly modified curriculum, smaller class sizes, and a lower student/teacher ratio.
A small percentage of students who require specialized instruction in a separate setting attend collaborative or private special education programs which are out of district. Looking at the enrollment figures for the current year, 49 students received out of district services compared to 92 children in 2010. Sills reported that the decreasing numbers of students who are being transported out of Bedford for educational services elsewhere has led to substantial cost savings over the last two years.
The approved school budget will be available to view on the Bedford Public Schools website’s School Budget page when it is available.
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