Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Special Education Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pupil Personnel Services presents student‑support expansions and budgeting for out‑of‑district tuition
Summary
The district’s acting director of pupil personnel services outlined expansions like a flex program at Blue Mountain Middle School, growth in the high‑school anchor program for neurodivergent students, added psychologists and planned psychiatric consultation, and noted expected increases in out‑of‑district tuition and related contracted services.
Christopher Moreno, acting director of Pupil Personnel Services, presented highlights of PPS achievements and the department’s proposed 2025–26 budget on March 5. His presentation summarized program expansions, staffing increases and anticipated budget pressures.
Moreno said the district implemented a flex program at Blue Mountain Middle School to support school‑avoidant students and those needing social‑emotional regulation; he reported reduced behavioral referrals and improved attendance for participants. He also described expansion of the high‑school anchor program, additions at the K–2 level and two new school psychologists added during the past year.
Planned budget items Moreno identified included expansion of anchor and flex services (intended to be budget‑neutral within PPS), direct psychiatric consultation through a contract (to increase scheduling access), and modest year‑over‑year increases in out‑of‑district tuition and BOCES service lines (quoted at roughly 2–3% based on trends). The PPS presentation also listed related services and vendor relationships the district uses for nursing and specialized therapies and said a new mileage code was added for staff travel to placements and observations.
Why it matters: pupil personnel services fund legally required special‑education services, related therapies and out‑of‑district placements for students whose needs exceed in‑district supports. Increases in tuition and contracted services affect the district’s special education budget and contingency planning.
Next steps: Moreno and the administration will include these projections in the district’s line‑by‑line budget review; the board will consider final adoption as part of the district budget calendar.
