Out-of-District Tuition The FY27 budget for out-of-district tuition is funded at a gross level of $18,326,012 and net level of $5,697,190 after circuit breaker reimbursement and carry-forward . This represents an increase of $941,584 over the FY26 budget. Several factors contribute to this change: • $1.085M increase due to a projected 3.67% rate increase for both day and residential placements. • $850,000 increase due to reduced Circuit Breaker carryforward funds available to offset tuition costs. In total, Newton will carry forward $2.5M in Circuit Breaker funds into FY27, compared with $3.35M carried forward into FY26. • $994,000 decrease due to increased Circuit Breaker reimbursement applied to tuition, based on final FY26 credit calculations. The increase in Circuit Breaker funding reflects rising eligible special education costs for both in-district and out-of-district students during FY26, which increases the district’s reimbursement through the state program and reduces the net tuition cost borne by the district. For FY27, it is assumed that both tuition and transportation reimbursement rates will remain at 75%, consistent with the reimbursement levels in FY25 and FY26. However, the Transportation reimbursement rates have initially started with a lower rate and the State has increased the rate at year-ending. In response to current fiscal constraints, the district has made targeted budget adjustments designed to preserve the quality of the student experience to the greatest extent possible. A guiding principle throughout this process has been to avoid reductions to direct student-facing positions and services, while identifying areas where central office and coordination functions could be streamlined or restructured. At the same time, the district continues to respond to increasing student needs within specialized programs. Notably, two additional (2.0 FTE) teaching positions have been added at the middle school level within citywide programs at Day Middle School. These positions support: 1. Bridge Program : Serves students requiring intensive social, emotional, and behavioral support. 2. Reflections Program : Serves students who are medically complex and present with a wide range of cognitive, physical, and health-related needs. Enrollment and complexity of student needs in both programs have increased, necessitating additional instructional capacity to maintain appropriate staffing ratios and ensure safe, effective programming.
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