WEYMOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BUDGET MANAGEMENT PRESENTATION
June 3, 2024
Weymouth Public Schools
by the numbers...
$84,273,835
FY24 operating budget
247,085 breakfasts/648,203 lunches
meals served annually via School Nutrition Program
5,644
students In-district
$17,936
FY22 per pupil cost
1,153
district employees
56
WPS buses & vans providing daily transportation
Weymouth Public Schools
by the numbers...
11
schools in district�
1.2 M
square feet maintained across 15 buildings
17%
students speak a language other than English
26
Advanced Placement courses offered
118-262
school bus & van routes operated by district in FY23 (includes out-of-district)
35th
largest school district in MA
INVOLVING ALL STAKEHOLDERS
WPS Budgeting Funds
General Funds
Special Revenue Funds
Other Funds Spent on WPS
Net School Spending
Non-Net School Spending
Federal Grants
State Grants
Revolving Funds
Chapter 70 Aid��Local City Contributions
Transportation
Title I
Title IIA
Title III
Title IV
Perkins
Special Ed
(240,262,274)
Miscellaneous Federal Grants
McKinney Vento
Comprehensive School Health
Miscellaneous State Grants
Food Service
Circuit Breaker
Facility Rental
Student Activity Accounts
Transportation/Pay Rider
Athletics
Miscellaneous Revolving Funds
Capital Projects�Note: the School Dept. cannot bond nor issue debt
One-Time COVID Funds
ESSER II, III
Other COVID Funds
CHAPTER 70 AID
WPS
State Aid Change FY24 to FY25
Proposed by Senate Budget WM | Amount | Note |
Chapter 70 Increase | $646,470 | Min. $30 per pupil increased to $110 per pupil |
Charter Tuition Reimb. | ($364,270) | Decrease of 41% from FY24 |
Charter Sending Tuition | $203,197 | Decrease in assessment from FY24 |
Net Increase from State | $485,397 | 0.5% of current FY24 Budget ~$84 per student |
(Data from mass.gov/cherry-sheet)
FY25 Budget Drivers
Collective Bargaining Agreements
Salaries, COLA, steps and longevity represent 80% of the budget.
Enrollment
Trend has flattened with slight future increase projected.
State Aid/Chapter 70
$176,310 increase per Governor’s House 1 budget
FY25 Budget Drivers
Circuit Breaker
State funding to reimburse up to 75% of SpEd out-of-district tuition costs above a threshold equaling 4x state average foundation budget per pupil
Out-of-District Tuition & Transportation
FY25 Budget Drivers
Transportation
Increasing costs & needs
Utilities
Increased costs
Grants
�FY24: $4.2 Million
Budget Approach
(Our Goal Each Year)
FY25 Budget Goals
FY25 Budget Factors
Budget | FY25 | FY26 | FY27 | FY28 | FY29 |
Total | $89.1M | $91.8M | $94.0M | $96.3M | $98.8M |
$ Increase | $4.9M | $2.0M | $2.3M | $2.3M | $2.4M |
% Increase | 5.78% | 2.26% | 2.47% | 2.48% | 2.47% |
Five Year Budget Forecast*
*based on current projections (does not include compliance changes and financial assumptions as 1/8/24
-expense cuts
-spending freeze
-non-fill of MS/HS vacancies
-prioritized spending
-transfer/attrition
-elimination of positions
$600K
(Jan)Phase 1:
ESSER
Positions Cut (7)
-transfers from other sources
-spending freeze
-non-fill of district positions
-additional State aid
-additional Town funding
-elimination of positions
$630K
(Apr) Phase 2:
FY24 Deficit
Grant Reallocation
-attrition/‘breakage’
-fee increases
-additional aid
-paused 1:1 device replacements
-additional Town funding
-reduction of positions
$990K
(May) Phase 3: FY25 Shortfall
Positions Reduced (12)
$2,500,000
$1,146,961
$1,673,359
Phased Approach to Addressing the ‘Fiscal Cliff’
Budget Request
phase 1
phase 2
Budget Shortfall
phase 3
Budget Measures Taken
Budget Cut Considerations
——————————————————————————————-
Revolving Accounts
Capital Measures FY25
MEASURE | DESCRIPTION | AMOUNT |
24-065 | WHS Field Upgrades | $280,000 |
24-066 | Math Curriculum | $150,000 |
24-067 | Modular Classrooms | $800,000 |
Transportation
Question(s):
Increase in transportation needs for Special Education, DCF cases, and homeless students. In general, transportation operating costs increased 6.1%.
$2.7M First Student (30 Buses)
$1.4M Special Ed (12 various vendors)
Maintenance Services
Question(s):
Yes, we participate in Consortiums (OSD, MHEC) with Town of Weymouth and other members. Most of our
purchasing of equipment has been done through State contracts.
The expense lines are mostly composed of utilities, contract services and supplies & materials
Utilities account for approximately 57% of the non-personnel budget. We’ve seen steady increases over the past few years and continue to utilize programs to lock in pricing and eliminate fluctuations.
We currently have 40 custodians across the district.
Last year 39 custodians were employed (with one vacancy). Attracting and retaining staff has been difficult the last few years.
District Administration
Question(s):
Salary Increases due to step increases and cost of living adjustments. Expense increases include additional legal costs and contractual increases of district service needs.
Yes, grant funding from Title I, Title III and CFCE for a total of 4.6 FTEs
District Administration
Question(s) Continued:
3. Can you detail for the committee how Weymouth District Administration compares to other similar sized districts in the ratio of student size or staff size to district leadership? (Data from doe.mass.edu/research/radar)
District Instruction
Question(s):
Most of the increase is due to increases in our substitute and coverage lines. We also saw an increase due to salary step increases, educational lane changes and cost of living adjustments of both school year staff and our summer programming. We eliminated 4 of our 12 instructional coaches.
District Instruction budget remains flat.
Each year we calculate the distribution of expenses to cost centers based on projected enrollments.
Athletics
Question(s):
Increase due to salary step increases and cost of living adjustments to staff and coaches stipends. There was not a recommendation to increase user fees for next year. The Town is funding middle school athletic user fees for students for one more year.
This year an internal audit was conducted and procedures were documented and added to our Financial Procedures Manual.
Professional Development
Question(s):
$240K is related to collectively bargained tuition reimbursement for staff
$56K is for materials, supplies and contact services for professional development
Health
Question(s):
The additional Chapman nurse that was added with ARPA funding last year will continue to be funded next year. This maintains a sufficient number of health staff per state guidelines.
Instructional Technology
Question(s):
Increase due to salary step increases and cost of living adjustments. There are 10 members of the Tech Department that was reduced from 13. Our 3 Tech Integration Specialists positions were eliminated due to budget cuts.
Special Education
Question(s):
Staffing and tuitions are the primary drivers of the program. Staff numbers fluctuate with student needs. Program needs and students with 1:1 needs, including 1:1 nursing, dictates staffing levels. Tuitions account for $5M of the $5.8M expense budget. Certain tuition costs are reimbursed up to 75% through the States ‘Circuit Breaker’ program.
The impacts of the pandemic has lead to an increase in referrals and students eligible for services. IEP teams meet to determine services based on eligibility criteria.
Questions/Comments