BOCES services, itinerant behavior specialist and CTE enrollment push related costs in draft budget

Administrators told the board that several BOCES-related items and program enrollments are increasing costs in the draft instructional budget but that many of these costs are partially aidable.

Andy Krasman said the district seeks to add an itinerant behavior specialist in a 0.6 capacity (about 102 days) to provide districtwide behavior assessments, classroom observations and strategies; the budget presentation attributed roughly $79,000 of the increase in the staff-development/BOCES services code to that position, which administrators said would be purchased through Erie 1 BOCES rather than hired directly to realize cost efficiencies. Krasman said using BOCES typically yields a lower price than contracting the service independently.

The presentation also noted an increase in career-and-technical-education participation: administrators said 218 students participated this year and projected about 240 next year in BOCES CTE programs, which raises the BOCES tuition line given the district is billed on a one-year lag for enrollment. Administrators emphasized that many BOCES service costs return aid to the district the following year (typically 50%–60% for many services) and that some increased expenditures—for example, BOCES science kits and student enrichment programs—reflect rising per-unit costs and additional service fees.

Why it matters: adding itinerant specialists and expanding CTE participation are programmatic responses to student needs but affect near-term budget spending and next-year aid projections. Administrators said the BOCES line increases are offset partially by aid but still require local budget allocation in the current year’s draft.

No formal board action on these items occurred; they were presented for inclusion in the draft instructional budget.