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Committee approves MOU with Tiverton to continue tuition arrangement; staff to negotiate up to $4,000 per special-education placement
Summary
The committee approved a one-year MOU to continue sending some students to Tiverton; CFO Kevin Almeida sought permission to negotiate up to $4,000 per eligible student in certain cases, and members asked for clarity about transportation and reimbursement rules for out-of-state placements.
The Fall River School Committee voted June 23 to approve a one-year memorandum of understanding with Tiverton to continue tuition arrangements for students attending Tiverton schools.
Kevin Almeida, chief financial officer, said Tiverton asked the district to allow an increase in the amount charged for certain students — specifically some special-education placements and students pursuing vocational options — and requested committee authorization to negotiate “up to $4,000 for those students” in the agreement.
Almeida said the MOU allows the district to collect state reimbursement for students who tuition out of state, and several committee members sought clarification on how the arrangement had been handled previously. A member said the district had missed prior reimbursement opportunities when students were not properly registered as Fall River residents for state reporting; Almeida said outreach this year had led families to re-enroll with Fall River so the district could claim reimbursement.
Questions from members centered on whether the district has an ongoing obligation to provide transportation for students who attend Tiverton under this arrangement and whether the arrangement should be extended or reviewed in light of potential increases in enrollment. Some members noted the reimbursement made the arrangement financially beneficial to the district; others asked whether similar arrangements could be requested by families near other borders and how the district would treat scaling enrollment.
Almeida and other staff said the district receives full state reimbursement for these out-of-state tuitions and that the agreement would not require the district to operate extra yellow-bus routes if the students were not otherwise district-transportation eligible. After discussion, the committee approved the MOU amendment and authorized Almeida to negotiate up to $4,000 per student within the terms described.
No detailed vote tally on the negotiated amount was required; the committee’s approval of the amended MOU passed by roll call.
