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Pittsford special education budget mostly flat as district plans to bring OT/PT in‑house
Summary
District special education central services were presented as essentially flat (0.11% increase) while the administration described shifting occupational and physical therapy from BOCES to Pittsford employment, hiring one OT and one PT, and relying on Medicaid and high‑cost aid funding streams.
The Pittsford Central School District presented its proposed central services budget for special education, saying the total is essentially flat (a 0.11% increase) while noting a planned shift of occupational therapy and physical therapy services from BOCES to district employees.
Elizabeth, the Board’s special education presenter, said the district supports students ages 5–22 in a range of settings and described three budget areas: district office central supports (administration and clerical), centralized speech‑language and adapted physical education services (noting 13.3 FTE speech‑language therapists and approximately 3.4 adapted physical education FTE), and outside placements/BOCES services. She said the district will recruit and hire one occupational therapist and one physical therapist for the coming year and move those positions into the district budget code rather than the BOCES code.
Elizabeth also described revenue streams that offset special education costs: Medicaid reimbursement (the district received just over $86,000 last year) and New York State high‑cost or 'Stack' aid (reported as $987,000 during the last school year). She said the Stack High Cost Aid allocation is based on prior‑year placements and that federal grants supporting special education are typically not finalized until late spring.
On service delivery, Elizabeth said most special education students receive instruction in general education settings for more than 80% of the day, and she highlighted ongoing challenges such as waitlists for specialized out‑of‑district placements and statewide staffing shortages for related services. She also noted ambiguous state guidance about services for students over age 21 and said districts continue to seek clarifying guidance from the State Education Department.
Elizabeth characterized the net financial effect of moving OT/PT in‑house as essentially budget neutral when accounting for supplies and materials and thanked business office staff for assistance with the calculations.
The Board heard the presentation and had an opportunity to ask questions before moving to other agenda items.
