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Date: 2/16/2023
EAST LONGMEADOW – Families with children in the East Longmeadow Public Schools (ELPS) preschool program will experience an increase in the yearly cost and scheduling changes in the new school year.
At the Feb. 6 School Committee meeting, Superintendent Gordon Smith said a change was needed in the preschool program due to a drastic surge in the number of students who have been referred for special education services. Under state law, the program must provide a placement at no cost to the family for all students deemed eligible for special education services.
Renee Lodi, principal of Meadowbrook Elementary School, where the preschool program is housed, said the influx of special education preschool students is “not slowing down.” As of December 2022, 45 students were referred for special education services, more than the 41 referred in the entire 2021-2022 school year. Lodi said the students have a severity of needs she had “never seen before.”
She explained that students “didn’t have the socialization they needed during the most critical developing years of their life” or “access to [in-person] early intervention services.” Those were provided remotely until this school year.
School Committee member Elizabeth Marsian-Boucher said parents of young children may not be aware that there are early intervention options available. Lodi agreed and added that if a child is not exposed to other children of the same age, parents may not realize their child is not developing at the same rate as their peers. She said this is the first year she has had kindergarteners who are not yet potty trained.
The number of students in two of the classrooms exceeds maximums and the other two are at maximum capacity. “I’ve got nowhere left to put folks,” Lodi said.
The 2022-2023 school year saw three full-day classrooms, mostly consisting of 4-year-olds going on to full-day kindergarten, one half-day classroom and one sub-separate classroom for students with “significant and complex needs” that preclude them from inclusion in a general education class.
For the 2023-2024 school year, Lodi proposed flipping the model with three half-day classes, one full-day class and the sub-separate classroom. This arrangement would not require extra staff but would allow for an additional 14 students with special education individualized education plans (IEPs) and 16 students with peer partners, a general education student that can assist students who need help. Children with peer partners often go on to have IEPs, Lodi said.
School Committee member Aimee Dalenta asked Lodi if shifting the preschool model is a “Band-Aid” for a larger issue. Lodi told her that there may be a need to relocate the preschool in the future. Lodi said there are up to five teachers sharing one classroom.
Lodi also floated the idea of changing the preschool arrival and dismissal times to be five minutes shorter on each end to ease car line congestion. She acknowledged the change would impact families.
The model change would reduce the preschool program’s revenue by about $25,000 with the current tuition prices of $2,200 for a half day and $6,000 for a full day. The price for a full day is more than double a half day because the children spend more than double the time at the program and are served lunch.
School Committee Chair Gregory Thompson recommended an increase to half-day and full-day prices by $500. Committee member Sarah Truoiolo agreed. Lodi cautioned that any changes kept pace with the market and commented that the $6,000 full-day rate was already a deterrent for some families.
Marsian-Boucher expressed reservations about boosting the program price while also cutting the amount of time students spent learning. Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Heather Brown noted that the proposed rate was still far less expensive than private programs.
“We’re basically saying to parents, ‘Look, we don’t have the room ... so, therefore we’re increasing the price because we have to completely restructure the day,’” Dalenta said.
After much discussion, the committee voted 3-2 to increase both the half-day and full-day sessions by $300, rather than $500. Marsian-Boucher and Dalenta voted against the measure. The vote to change the preschool model was unanimous.
Special education costs
Brown told the School Committee that she contacted the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to obtain an estimate for the district’s Chapter 70 state aid. While emphasizing it was merely an estimate, Brown said the district can expect an additional $670,000, bringing the district’s total to about $13.7 million. Smith commented that $670,000 is “a pretty big increase,” historically. He said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the aid.
Brown said that, despite funding level services, the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) budget is expected to be about 3.7 percent higher than in FY23, which translates to roughly $1.2 million.
A portion of the increase can be attributed to a 14 percent hike in out-of-district (OOD) tuition fees for students with needs that cannot be addressed within ELPS. This “astronomical increase” of $310,000 increase brings the total expected OOD costs to $3.2 million, Brown said. The district plans to fund the OOD placements with $1.8 million from the operating budget, $770,000 in federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grant funds and $720,000 from the circuit breaker, a state reimbursement for a portion of FY23’s special education expenses.
Brown said the district is hoping the state will provide a funding source to help absorb the OOD increase’s impact. Smith added that school districts and residents need to “stay on top of” the local delegation of legislators and push for some form of relief.
Nonetheless, Brown said the district is in a “decent position to withstand the increase.”
The School Committee also discussed adding a social-emotional learning (SEL) teacher to the elementary-level roster. Lodi said many students require “a lot of support,” and this is overwhelming counselors. She said eight to 10 students require extra support and about four students with “significant trauma backgrounds” require interventions up to five times per day. The situation is disruptive to other students, Lodi said.
Smith said the SEL teacher, and a needed custodial position will raise the FY24 budget to 4 percent over FY23.
ELHS project update
In September 2022, four main projects, ranging from bringing the existing building up to code, to completely new construction, were submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). However, some projects had alternatives, which brought the number of options to seven. Smith said the High School Building Committee had worked to narrow the options since then and has homed in on new construction.
Recently, the committee voted for “Option 3C,” in which the building would be located further south on the existing campus. Traffic and parking areas would be redesigned, and the plan includes a relocated tennis court and new basketball court.
Moving forward, the committee will begin to identify specifics, such as the building’s exterior design and what materials will be used. Thompson said the school’s heat and air conditioning will be run through an electric heat exchange, which would make the new building more energy intensive than its existing predecessor. To offset this, the High School Building Committee is considering a rooftop solar array. While it would raise the price of the building by up to $3 million, “certainly, there’s a return on investment,” Thompson said. Dalenta commented that the solar inclusion, “seems like a strong, long-term investment.”
In its current incarnation, the plan includes all the amenities of the existing building, although Smith noted that may change. The committee will continue to adjust the plan according to community preferences. The kitchen in the building will serve the high school and three elementary schools. The generator at the new school will allow it to act as a shelter during emergencies.
Thompson added that in the current plan, the town’s Information Technology Department, East Longmeadow Cable Access Television and district office will remain on the campus. Smith said those departments may move into the Town Hall if the town offices move to a building it is negotiating to purchase at 382 North Main St.
The “preferred schematic report,” outlining the plan, will be submitted to the MSBA later this year and the town will vote on whether to fund the project in November. A public forum will be conducted, likely in March.