Lexington Public Schools

Fiscal Year 2024 Budget

Level Service Budget Recommendation of the Superintendent

​

​

February 7, 2023 - School Committee Vote

1

LPS Budget Process and Timeline

2

• August - review of prior year spending and expected changes impacting FY24, budget forms distributed to budget managers, principals and department heads
• September - development of School Committee budget guidelines and calendar for SC review
• October to November- special education, departmental, and principal budget meetings
• November - departmental budget narratives submissions due
• December - finalize budget recommendation; final review of narratives; build budget tables and charts; print and distribute

• January - Superintendent presents budget to LPS staff; School Committee Public Hearings
• February - School Committee vote to approve LPS FY24 Budget; Town FY24 Operating and Capital Budget recommendation to Town Meeting Members
• March - Annual Town Meeting
• April - FY24 School Operating Budget opens for requisition entry

LPS Budget Process and Timeline

FY 2024 Level Services Budget of the Superintendent

​

3

SUMMIT IV:

(January 2023)

​

FY24 White Book Preview

FY 2024 Revenue Allocation

FY 2024 Level Services Budget of the Superintendent

​

4

• $273,450,788 - total revenue available for allocation
• $266,854,000 - allocated across municipal and school accounts
• $6,734,442 - incremental revenue balance available FY 2024
• Apply Revenue Allocation Model (LPS: 74.0%; Municipal: 26.0%)
• FY 2023 LPS Base Budget of $128,254,447
• Additional FY 2024 Revenue Appropriation +$4,983,911 or 3.89%
• FY 2024 Total LPS Allocation = $133,238,358

​

​

​

FY 2024 Level Services Budget of the Superintendent

​

5

• As a reminder: at the last FY24 Budget Summit, the allocation being discussed is less than the allocation requested (3.6% vs. 4.1%). We had a high number of turnbacks because we used federal funds first. At previous SC meetings, we discussed an increase to the special education stabilization account, which can help close this gap.
• As of October 1, 2022, a total of 53 new students have moved into the district, some of whom have extremely high needs; fifteen students require one-on-one staffing. Also, our current count of Lexington students experiencing homelessness already exceeds previous full year counts.
• Some of these children lived in places offering no formal schooling during the pandemic.
• These are current budgetary pressures that will carry forward into the FY24 school budget.
• LPS student needs are increasing at a pace we have not experienced in many years, and the budgetary pressures are overwhelming. In a few short months we have added a total of 31.5 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) to fill critical needs, with 26.5 FTEs dedicated to special education.
• As we establish the FY24 school budget, it would be foolhardy to pretend that pandemic education could cost the same or less than in years past. If ever there were a year for a small infusion of funding to stabilize the budget, this is it.

​

LPS FY23 & FY24 Budget Pressures

LPS FY 2024 Budget Overview

FY 2024 Level Services Budget of the Superintendent

​

6

*Transfer for additional 12.0 FTEs in FY24 based on Town estimate for benefits of $17,636.2 per employee

​

3.89%

• FY 2024 - 3.9% or $4.984M
• FY 2023 - 4.4% or $5.377M
• FY 2022 - 4.2% or $5.019M
• FY 2021 - 4.3% or $4.854M
• FY 2020 - 5.4% or $5.859M
• FY 2019 - 6.9% or $6.989M
• FY 2018 - 6.6% or $6.432M
• FY 2017 - 7.2% or $5.667M

​

​

​

​

7

LPS Budget Increases Over Time

FY22 increase includes $500K from Special Education Stabilization

How do we close the Appropriation Gap: 3.89% to 4.1%

​

1. Background
1. $2.6M in FY22 Circuit Breaker funds were not spent down due to the expenditure of federal grants first.
2. Summit I - Town offered a $1M appropriation from free cash to SpEd Stabilization fund ($500K SpEd Stabilization and $500K more).
1. Discussions about further increases as more high-needs students moved in.
2. Currently, SpEd Stabilization has a little over $650K in fund, we talked about increasing the SpEd Stabilization total to $2.5M by allocating $1.4M ($500K + $1.300M) additional money.
2. Revised Proposal (01-19-2023)
• The law allows Towns to set aside up to 2% of their Net School Spending (NSS) amount into their Special Education Stabilization Accounts (MGL c40 s13E).
• Maintain original SpEd Stabilization account and establish a new SpEd Reserve account under MGL c40 s13E.
• Put the $500K allocated out in FY22 back into the SpEd Stabilization Fund.
• Appropriate $750,000 of the FY22 Circuit Breaker turn-back to SpEd Reserve Fund.
• Use $351K of SpEd Reserve funds if necessary to balance the FY 2024 budget.
3. Rationale
3. The increased special education costs are not going away, and this allows us to provide an adequate reserve for the school department going into a year of fiscal uncertainty surrounding special education.
4. This gets us closer to the FY24 budget recommendation that we project to need in a clean and clear way.
5. The municipal side does not like to apply free cash toward operational expenses; however, the new funding mechanism allows the district additional flexibility to cover extraordinary or unbudgeted expenses, and to supplement the reserve accounts when funds are available.

​

​

8

FY 24 Budget Assumptions

• Enrollment rebounds to prior projections
• General education staffing levels return to normal; new additions for mandates and enrollment impacts
• Expense increases: transportation, tuition, special education services
• Utilize available offset accounts as judiciously as possible

​

9

​

FY 2023 Enrollment Projections*

FY 2024 Level Services Budget of the Superintendent

*Enrollment reflects official Oct 1st report to State.

Annual PK-12 Enrollment Over Time

​

10

FY 2023: Projections vs. Actual Enrollment

11

• Overall enrollment was projected to decline by approx 86 students, but actually increased in 2022-2023 by 47 students

​

• K - 8: Actual K-8 enrollment exceeded projections by 102 students

​

• HS enrollment was expected to be relatively flat, but exceeded the projection by 31 students

​

FY23: Actual Enrollment vs. Projected Enrollment (October 1)

Smaller than usual entering Kindergarten cohorts in Lexington and across the State and Nation.

FY 2024 Level Services Budget of the Superintendent

​

12

Summary of FY24 Staffing Changes

13

• A net increase in staffing of 13.43 FTEs
• Staff identified transfers and reductions by departments
• Staffing increases identified to meet legal and contractual mandates
• History of FTE Changes in Budget

FY24 - 13.43 FTE

FY23 - (1.31) FTE

FY22 - (6.0) FTE

FY21 - 3.19 FTE

FY20 - 28.07 FTE

FY19 - 22.25 FTE

FY18 - 49.34 FTE

FY17 - 50.58 FTE

FY 2008 - FY 2021 Enrollment Adjusted Cost Growth for School Systems in Similar Communities

14

Source: MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; Net School Spending - Chapter 70 District Profiles

FY 2024 Budgetary Risks and Unknowns

​

• Impact on local economy and Town revenues due to lingering pandemic impacts
• Chapter 70 State Aid - impact of State revenue and October 2022 Enrollment on Ch 70 Allocation funds
• Impact of OSD 14% inflation rate for OOD tuition rates and ability of State Circuit Breaker to keep pace
• Circuit Breaker - impact of State funding resources to maintain CB Reimbursement Rates - FY24 Budget assumes 70% as in prior years
• Federal 94-142 Grant Aid - Special Education allocations driven by enrollment and set-aside

​

15

• Will FY24 enrollment continue to rebound and will incoming students require additional services in same fashion as in FY23
• Lingering Impact of COVID-19, including vaccine distribution and efficacy; impacts on student enrollment and staff needs
• Use of reserve funds from Special Education Stabilization Fund; potentially be depleted by FY25; how will we begin to rebuild the fund?
• Forgoing CPI inflation adjustment on expense accounts and need to manage a leaner budget
• Impact of a lean FY24 budget on future turn-back and FY25 budget

Special Thanks

16

Dave Coelho, Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations

Laura Reinholm, Assistant Director of Finance

Kathleen Kim, Financial Analyst

Adrian Leone, Executive Administrative Assistant

All LPS Finance & Operations Staff

And a big shoutout to our amazing LPS students for their incredible artwork!

​