School Committee:Meetings 2013:08 Jan 2013 Summary

The following is a Jan 8 2013 School Committee meeting summary submitted to the Hastings School news bulletin.

The School Committee also posts their minutes on the Lexington Public Schools Web site (www.lps.lexingtonma.org) in the School Committee section after they are approved. You can also view video recordings of School Committee meetings from the On Demand section on www.lexmedia.org.

Some notes about related meetings:
 * You will see some items of interest regarding Hastings enrollment in the sections below. Louise Lipsitz with be speaking at the PTA Café on Friday morning, January  25th from 8:15-- 8:45 am and may be able to address questions about these topics.
 * There is a School Committee Public Hearing regarding the proposed FY 2014 budget scheduled for Wednesday, January 30 at 7:30 pm at the Harrington Elementary Cafeteria.

LPS Enrollment Numbers
Dr. Ash presented enrollment numbers for Lexington Public Schools (LPS). Some highlights from this discussion: !!!!!Recommended LPS Budget, FY 2014 Dr. Ash presented the recommended Lexington Public Schools budget for fiscal year 2014. Importantly, for the first time in Dr. Ash’s career, we have sufficient municipal funds to support the proposed LPS budget outlined below.
 * One year projections are accurate at district-level but we should expect variation classroom-level.
 * The LPS Administration used census numbers to predict kindergarten levels.
 * The LPS Administration used birth numbers for the 10-year forecast.
 * Kindergarten enrollment has been increasing starting in 2008 and continuing to present. In the last three years, LPS has seen steady increases and considerably higher kindergarten enrollment rates.
 * Based on census numbers, there have been no major change in the number of births in the last 8 years, but we have seen more in-migration of families with school-age children. In-migration affects elementary school enrollment the most.
 * Unless there is out-migration, elementary school enrollment numbers are expected to continue to increase.
 * High school progression rates haven’t changed much in the last 20 years. However, the high school is already at capacity, so even small increases will cause space issues in the next 10 years.
 * LPS is projecting that 4 elementary classes will exceed the 26-child-per-class limit for the 2013-2014 school year (this limit was established in the teacher’s collective bargaining contract). Hastings 4th grade is one of these four (the others are at Bridge, Bowman, and Estabrook).  When classes exceed the 26-child limit, an aide must be assigned to a class for 10 hours per week.   The other option is to split the class and hire another 4th grade teacher, but space restraints can make this difficult.
 * Dr. Ash is working with Principal Lipsitz on creative solutions to the space constraints for the 2013-2014 school year so that a classroom can be made available for an additional Hastings 4th grade class.
 * Dr. Ash said it is likely that they will need to form a re-districting committee in September 2013 (after enrollment numbers are known) to determine how to re-balance the elementary school enrollments once the extra classrooms are available at Bridge, Bowman, and Estabrook if the elementary enrollment projections continue to grow.
 * The SC Committee summary omits an important point for Hastings: current enrollment numbers are not high enough to warrant four sections. At the present time we are budgeted for three sections.  Mrs. Lipsitz and Dr. Ash will monitor the kindergarten enrollment numbers closely.

Some highlights of Dr. Ash’s presentation are included below, but please see the recorded School Committee meeting in the On Demand section of www.lexmedia.org to view the full presentation and details.
 * Budget for FY 13 was $76,628,356.
 * Budget requested for FY 14 is $81,924,343.
 * Increased spending is $5,295,987, or 6.91%.

Budget drivers are personnel ($4,778,460) and expenses ($517, 527). Personnel costs include:
 * Collective bargaining (personnel costs for existing staff)
 * 16.8 New positions (legal requirements) ($979,115) (Diamond ILP staff, additional other special ed staff (IAs, SSIs)
 * 10.6 New positions (enrollment increases) ($603,172)
 * New positions (program improvements) ($1,603,761) (Clarke ILP Re-Design 1.73 FTEs–looking at either hiring teachers or assistants) going beyond what the law requires—of note, this will include making all assistant principals to full-time from part-time.

Expenses costs include: !!!!!Facilities Master Planning Pat Goddard reviewed the Facilities Master Plan, 10-year plan. Some highlights:
 * Maintain $300 bus bee ($388,788)
 * LHS Debate program ($65,000)
 * LHS Math Textbooks ($81,559)
 * Special Ed Tuition ($321,140)
 * All other expenses ($292,320)
 * School Capital Budget is $1,213,000
 * Included in the DPF Capital Budget is a $90,000 Hastings Kitchen Renovation.
 * The 10-year Master Plan approved in 2009—this plan did not support renovation of LHS, but did support Bridge, Bowman, and Estabrook projects. The goal in this master plan was to monitor Hastings Elementary for renovation/re-building needs. $32 million was approved with this master plan.
 * Based on enrollment projections, the need for a Hastings renovation project is no longer a question, and planning for this project will be budgeted.
 * Mr. Goddard presented a proposal to change the way LPS does building renewal to plan ahead for when maintenance is needed to better finance needed improvements on a yearly basis, rather than accumulating work and doing large projects. By doing small projects, you also reduce administrative costs (need for general contractors, etc.) and lessens risk of schedule increases.
 * Motion to approve establishment of annual appropriation to fund building renewal projects at $2 million per year (project id number 869). Motion was approved unanimously.
 * School committee discussed a recommendation for the high school renovation to be targeted after a Hastings school renovation project in the 10-year plan. If planning starts in 2016 for Hastings renovation, typically it is another 4 years before the school is ready for students (2020).
 * The School Committee discussed some of the challenges in planning swing space (the space for students who attend Hastings during the renovation) and discussed the need for budget planning to occur for this issue during a feasibility study.
 * Planning for Hastings project will be targeted for a feasibility study to be approved in the 2015 Lexington Town Meeting. High School feasibility plan would be presented at 2019 Lexington Town Meeting.