The Marion School Committee meeting on Wednesday evening, March 7 offered a detailed explanation of how a child qualifies under the federal and state Special Education Enrollment program.
Director of Student Services, Teresa Hamm provided a flow chart, labeled ProjectIDEAL, which illustrated the various phases, from identifying a need, referral, evaluation, eligibility for assistance and determining services needed to assist in student progress. Special education includes children from ages three through 22.
Several attendees asked questions about the process, including Mike Canavan who asked about services at the junior high school. Hamm referred to various handouts and reassured attendees that careful analysis is done on a consistent basis to ensure needs are addressed.
In Marion, 74 out of 477 students, 74 (or about 15.5 percent) require special education services, with 3.1 percent requiring out-of-district educational services, according to Hamm’s handout. The topic was being specifically addressed due to the increase in services shown in the fiscal year 2013 budget.
In a discussion on the Fiscal Year 2013 budget, Superintendent, Doug White reported that he had met with the Marion Finance Committee, Town Administrator Paul Dawson and the Board of Selectmen and found that the town is willing to assist in working out a compromise on the proposed shortfall in the level services budget.
According to Committee Chair Brad Gordon, the details have not been worked out and the budget subcommittee has yet to review all the information, but was “relieved” that the shortfall issue has been greatly reduced.
“We need to see the influence on the budget and prepare and propose a revised FY 2013 budget, which will include a public hearing prior to our vote on it at the April 4 school committee meeting,” said Gordon.
According to White, the primary budget drivers include contractual obligations for current and retired teachers, an increase in the number of students attending Bristol Agricultural School and increased special education costs.
White said that two Marion students attend Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton, MA, majoring in animal husbandry, which is not offered at Upper Cape Vocational Technical School, where Marion students go for vocational education.
White said that he continues to target legislators on Beacon Hill to encourage that they support a foundation budget that will increase funding to handle the ever changing special education needs as well as address the increasing health insurance costs that are impacting school budgets.
Principal Lyn Rivet gave her report and said that the fourth grade will complete the MCAS long composition test on March 20. Other MCAS testing will take place on March 27 and March 29. Ms. Rivet reported that attendance is steady at 97 percent.
The board voted and approved Christine Winters to represent the school committee on the newly formed Special Education Sub-Committee which is looking into changing the way special needs funding is distributed among the district and four elementary schools in the Tri Town.
The proposed idea is to keep special needs costs involving students ages three through sixth grade within the individual towns, and pushing the special needs costs for grades seven through age twenty-two to the district budget. The committee has not met yet, but plan to bring any proposals to be voted upon and implemented for the fiscal year 2014 budget process.
Food Director, Caitlyn Meagher discussed the food service budget and reported slow but steady progress in improving efficiency, lowering costs and increasing lunch participation at Sippican School. Meagher reported that 41 percent of Sippican School students purchased lunch in January of 2012 versus 40 percent in January of 2011.
By Joan Hartnett-Barry