Lynchburg School Officials Budget for Increase in Special Ed Students

By Annie Mccallum, The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.

Jan. 23–Lynchburg City School officials reviewed in-depth spending figures and changing division demographics Tuesday evening, during continued budget talks.

While education officials have already forwarded a budget proposal to city officials based on the governor’s budget, they anticipate changes once figures are finalized by the state legislature.

In a renewed effort to find how many students the budget must fund and who the students are, officials looked at the district’s population of students eligible for free and reduced meals, special education students and limited English proficiency students.

The numbers, presented at Tuesday’s school board meeting, showed an increase in those three subsets of students. The rise in special education students has the possibility of being the most costly, officials said.

“The total student population has decreased, but the percentage of

special education (students) over the same time period has increased,” said Beverly Padgett, LCS chief financial officer.

The school division has gone from having a 15 percent special education population in 2000 to almost 18 percent in 2006. There were 1,397 special education students in Lynchburg City Schools in 2000. In 2006 the number was 1,528, an increase of about 130 students. As a result Wyllys VanDerwerker, LCS director for special education,

presented board members with estimates for special education expenditures.

“We tried to give you an understanding of special education costs,” he said. “It’s very challenging for any school division to predict what special education costs would be.”

VanDerwerker said cost is difficult to pinpoint because special education services and when students receive them vary. Still, he said, over time costs do continue to rise.

For example, he said during the 1998-1999 school year, city schools spent almost $8 million on special education costs. During the 2006-2007 school year the division spent about $12 million.

“It is going to be a cost challenge to all of us for many years,” VanDerwerker said.

Officials also found a steady increase in the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced meals. In 2000, almost 44 percent of students were eligible, compared with almost 54 percent in 2006.The proportion of limited English proficient students is also on the rise, with 0.67 percent in 2000 and 1.29 percent in 2006.

Padgett said while the number of students who would likely require additional services is on the rise, total enrollment is not. Average daily membership numbers, those used to compute the amount of state funding the division receives, are declining.

City schools had 571 fewer students in 2006-2007 than they did during the 2000-2001 school year.

The city’s operating budget has consistently grown since 2000. Officials found during that time the city spent about $107 million in 2000-2001, compared with about $184.6 million proposed this year.

“That’s quite an increase,” said school board member Leslie Faircloth.

The city’s contribution to the schools was $30.7 million in 2000, compared with this year’s estimated $32.6 million.

Padgett said she has not received feedback from city officials about the division’s proposed budget, which at this point calls for a 1.14 percent increase in city funds.

In other news, the board:

–Received a brief update on construction progress of the new Sandusky Middle School from Blair Smith, a representative with Dominion Seven Architects. He said the project, which is the first new school built since Heritage in the mid-1970s, is on schedule.

Dominion Seven advertised for bids for the school’s new track and field Jan. 20. Bids are expected back on Feb. 14, with an anticipated completion by the end of June.

Advertising for the school’s construction will begin April 6 and bids will be due by May 1. Smith said his firm has also started advertising to find contractors who pre-qualify for the project, with the hope of weeding out any contractors who could not complete the extensive project.

Smith said Dominion Seven is also completing 3-D renderings of the building to show a more realistic view of what the new school will look like. A meeting with Sandusky teachers and staff and a separate meeting for community members are also being planned.

–Received a presentation on efforts to reduce truancy in city schools from the division’s truancy personnel and several principals. Officials emphasized the importance of mentor programs that build relationships between students and staff members as a way of cutting down on student absences.

“It makes a big difference when a specific teacher calls and wants to know where you are,” said Mark Miear, Heritage High School principal. “High schools can be big places and students can get easily lost. When someone takes an interest in you and encourages you, it makes a difference.”

At the suggestion of school board member Darin Gerdes, the board plans to send a letter to recognize staff members who have participated in mentor programs.

–Approved revisions to the 2008-2009 Middle School Program of Studies, which provides information to students and parents about instructional practices and programs at the city’s middle schools.

Officials said the document was significantly revised last year and this year’s changes included only minor adjustments to exploratory and elective offerings.

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