Dutchess BOCES outlines 4.14% administrative increase and rising retiree-health costs
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Summary
Dutchess County BOCES officials told the Wappingers board that its administrative budget would grow about 4.14% driven largely by retiree health and Medicare reimbursements, that total BOCES activity is roughly $125 130 million, and that Wappingers' RWADA decline slightly reduces its share of the component charge.
Representatives from Dutchess County BOCES presented their administrative budget and services overview to the Wappingers board on March 23.
Assistant Superintendent Nora Merritt and presenter Michael Skerritt said BOCES' total operations are about $125 million to $130 million and that their administrative (voteable) budget-to-budget increase is about 4.14%. Skerritt cited a 9.9% health-insurance assumption and said retiree health insurance and Medicare reimbursement together accounted for significant pressure on the administrative numbers.
"Three quarters of our administrative budget is retiree health insurance," Skerritt said, noting that by law retiree coverage must be included in the administrative line regardless of where an employee worked while active.
Skerritt described BOCES revenues and returns to districts: Wappingers had roughly a $21 million contract with BOCES, received about $1.2 million in surplus returns and just under $3.8 million in BOCES aid, which together represented roughly $5 million or about 24% returned in some form on expenditures. He said component-charge increases for districts are calculated by RWADA (weighted average daily attendance) and that Wappingers' RWADA was down 111 year over year, reducing Wappingers' increase to about 4.01%.
Merritt highlighted program participation, noting Wappingers sends students to special-education and alternative programs (about 56), roughly 116 to CTE programs and 22 to the district's P-TECH program. She also flagged kindergarten special-education referrals (about 180 referrals with capacity for around 40 placements) and a growing space constraint.
The presentation emphasized BOCES' role in providing career-and-technical education, early-college programs and safety/security services and reviewed the BOCES board and vote schedule for April and April 28.
BOCES representatives asked districts to review service-request forms by early April to inform staffing and rates for next year; the administrative budget will be subject to vote at the BOCES annual meeting and component school votes in late April.
