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Superintendent urges regionalizing special-ed transportation to reduce costs
Summary
Superintendent Mark Branca updated the committee on the budget, urged regional solutions for special-education transportation and said the district and North Shore colleagues are advocating at the statehouse for Chapter 70 and transportation funding reforms.
Superintendent Mark Branca provided a budget-development update and thanked the select board and finance committee for supporting the schools' proposed budget. He described recent North Shore superintendent meetings with legislators and outlined four legislative priorities, including sustainable Chapter 70 funding and transportation equity.
Branca said the state's process of special-education reimbursement places an onerous burden on districts. "We're 1 of only 5 or 6 states in the country that makes districts pay the bill upfront and then keep our hands folded and hope that that reimbursement comes back in whatever they define as a timely manner," he said, arguing that regionalizing transportation and changing state payment practices could reduce local budget pressure. Branca added that district staff are exploring a regional transportation hub to centralize bidding, improve employee recruitment and contain costs.
Committee members discussed the share of the budget attributed to special education and transportation; Branca referenced a district total of about $6,600,000 with just over $500,000 for transportation and suggested regional approaches could yield savings.
