EAST PROVIDENCE — The East Providence School Department’s required commitments to Special Education exploded late in 2019, causing a strain on the district’s existing 2019-20 budget.

Included in the monthly report by District Director of Finance Craig Enos to the School Committee at its January 14 meeting was the amount of students who entered the city this past fall and the amount it is expected to cost.

Mr. Enos introduced his update to the district’s Special Education budget by reminding the committee, “As you are aware, we have said many times in the past that Special Education tuitions can dramatically change the budget at any time. Well, for us right now, that has come true.”

Mr. Enos said due to an unexpected influx into the district of children requiring special needs attention, the costs have risen by some $1 million.

Mr. Enos explained since the start of the 2019-2020 term, 30 new Special Needs students have entered the system, and most of those were after November 1.

Of the 30, about half have come from inside the city and the others were placed by either the state Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) or through the CRAFT (Children's Residential and Family Treatment) Program at Bradley Hospital.

Superintendent Kathryn Crowley noted the district was originally being reimbursed by the state at a per pupil cost of over $16,000. Legislation passed in the General Assembly written by East Providence State Representative Gregg Amore (D-Dist. 65) upped to $21,000, but she called the increase merely a “drop in the bucket” in the overall cost of educating the child. Mrs. Crowley added any change at the state level is unlikely this session, but that Mr. Amore, who also serves as the district's athletic director, plans to introduce legislation addressing the matter some time this year or early next.

Mr. Enos added another strain on the district’s coffers resulting from the General Assembly changing related laws was increasing the age students remain in the Special Education curriculum by a year from 21 to 22. Some eight to 10 students will remain under the department’s purview through this calendar year.

He added at next month’s committee meeting the administration, including new Director of Pupil Personnel Leslie Anderson, will present revised budget with reductions in some areas and the need for increases in others.

Committee members expressed their alarm during the ensuing discussion.

Ward 4 Committee representative Jessica Beauchaine and At-Large member Joel Monteiro both spoke about the situation at the state level. Ms. Beauchaine said it would difficult for the district to gain support from state legislators of other municipalities who would likely be reluctant to take on the increased costs. Mr. Monteiro referred to how laws are written and that most monies remain where the students reside rather than the district in which they are educated.

“We need to make sure that everyone in the chain…The city knows what’s going on. The mayor knows what’s going on. And our (state) legislators know what’s going on. Because we cannot affect this ourselves. We have to react to it. We have to pay for the services, but we can’t change the laws,” Committee Chairman and Ward 1 member Charlie Tsonos said. “We just need to make sure the City Council, the mayor know what we’re up against.”

New director
Ms. Anderson formally took over the Pupil Personnel director post from Julian “Bud” MacDonnell late last year following the latter’s decision to decrease his work load. Mr. MacDonnell remains in the administration as the assistant director of Pupil Personnel.

Ms. Anderson comes to the system after spending nearly the last 12 years in the same position for the Bristol-Warren School District. Her previous career stops included almost a decade in city as Director of Religious Education at East Providence’s St. Francis Xavier Church for much of the 1990s. Ms. Anderson began her four-decade career in education as a Mathematics teacher.

FY17-18 audit
Mr. Enos’ remarks last week also included a review of the city-wide audit of East Providence’s finances through the end of Fiscal Year 2017-18, which culminated on October 31, 2018.

The completed report, prepared by the accounting firm of BlumShapiro, has not yet been issued because of a delay in information pertaining to the city side, according to Mr. Enos.

The school side was done, though, he said, noting there were “no material weaknesses” in the district’s methods of recording and documenting its finances.

Mr. Enos said there was one deficiency in the report, but that it should not be an issue going forward. The matter pertained to the district’s school lunch program. He said it’s a “carry-over finding,” but that it “should drop off” during the next review process. The director said the reason for the deficiency was the auditors could not find documentation on the original selection of Chartwells back in 2014 to be the district’s food provider.

Mr. Enos pointed out two other areas of note from the audit were the amount of monies in the school unrestricted expenditure fund was $5.5 million as of the end of FY17-18 and the interfund balance and transfers between the schools and the city was, in fact, $6.5 million.

The so-called “due to, due from” balance and transfers monies related to state and federal educational aid were a bone of contention between the district and the city during the latter stages of 2019. The sides eventually agreed to transfer that amount from the city to the schools in equal amounts over the next four years.