Schools

Rising Special Education Costs Contribute to $1 Million Shortfall for FY24 Watertown School Budget

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The Watertown Public Schools face a shortfall of around $1 million for the 2023-24 school year (Fiscal Year 2024), due in part to a large increase in the cost of special education. Monday night the School Committee heard the FY24 preliminary budget presentation from School administrators, who said the Watertown Public School’s level-services budget faces a significant deficit. This budget would provide the same level of services and programs available to students during the current school year, though it might require additional staff to provide the service due to increased enrollment in a certain grade or in a particular program, said Heidi Perkins, the WPS Director of Finance and Operations. The Watertown Schools will receive a 3.5 percent increase from the City over the FY23 budget, or $2.84 million, which would make the FY24 budget $55.64 million. The amount needed to cover a level-services budget is $58.47 million, as of Jan.

Schools

Special Education Parent Group Invites All Families to Back to School Picnic

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The following information was provided by Watertown SEPAC:

Watertown SEPAC invites all families to attend our Back to School Family Picnic on Monday, August 29 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at Fillippello Park. Please see the event flyer for more details.  

Watertown SEPAC is run by parent volunteers who were all nominated and elected by parents and includes all stakeholders in our community. Our meetings are free and open to the public. A SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) is a district-level, parent-driven group that provides input to the school district on current successes and challenges in special education and related services.  

We provided families and other community members with the following: 

information about basic rights for families pertaining to special educationcontact information for our school special education administrators and school committee members in Watertowna space to discuss special education concerns and ask questionsaccess to local and state-level resources that can help answer more involved questionscommunity and support

Watertown SEPAC’s mission is to encourage honest and effective communication, understanding, and mutual respect in a supportive partnership inclusive of all students, caregivers, educators, and the community at large in an effort to ensure the delivery of appropriate services and supports to students with disabilities and special health care needs. We work directly with district administrators to address system-level challenges, facilitate family-district communication, and provide families with training and resources. We can be reached at sepac.watertown@gmail.com.

Schools

Watertown School Committee Puts Hold on Purchasing Vans with End of Year Surplus

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The School Committee balked at using funds remaining at the end of the year on two vans, at least for now, but approved spending money to prepay special education tuition and to add funds to the Town’s Special Education Stabilization Fund. The proposal came Monday night, at the last planned School Committee during Fiscal Year 2018, and if funds are not spent or designated they go back to the Town’s general fund. The Watertown Public Schools is projected to end the year with a $785,928, said School Committee Vice President Kendra Foley. The surplus came about due to lower than expected special education costs, vacancies left unfilled and hires that were not made, Foley said. The School Committee’s Budget and Finance Subcommittee discussed what to do with the funds at a prior meeting, and proposed using $400,000 to prepay special education tuitions for the first three months of the next fiscal year, put $200,000 into the Special Education Stabilization Fund and purchase two 12-seat vans (10 passengers plus the driver and the front passenger seat) with $100,000.

Schools

Watertown Special Education Parent Group Meeting at Hosmer School

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The Watertown SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) invites the public to its November meeting where the focus will be: “What are your basic
rights in the IEPprocess?” Watertown SEPAC sent out the following announcement:

Come hear speaker Cheryl Caira talk about those rights and answer some
questions about the process

Child Care available

Watertown SEPAC meeting

WHEN: Tuesday November 14 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: Hosmer Elementary School Library, 1 Concord Road

Schools

Watertown Middle School Classroom Kitchen Gets An Overhaul

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A kitchen used by students in the special education program at Watertown Middle School got a partial upgrade and improvement recently, bringing it into the current century. The kitchen is left over from a now defunct program at the Middle School, said Principal Kimo Carter. “Fifteen years ago we had a home economics program that got discontinued,” Carter said. “This room and the one beside it were the home ec rooms.” The room has counters, cabinets, a stove, refrigerator and microwave.

Schools

WHS Student Overcomes Learning Challenges to Graduate with Honors

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Rosdom Kaligian, center, overcame dyslexia and autism to graduate from Watertown High School with honors. When the seniors at Watertown High School graduated on Friday, there was one graduate who overcame some major challenges to not only finish high school but do so with honors. 

Rosdom Kaligian has severe dyslexia and also is autistic. His parents considered placing him in an out-of-district special education program, his mother Barbara Aghamianz said, but he convinced them to keep him at WHS. “I think people forget how hard it is for these kids to graduate, let alone be successful.” Barbara said.

Schools

Parent Group to Honor Those Who Helped Special Education in Watertown

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The 2017 Annual SEPAC Awards Night featuring Keynote Speaker Dr. William W. Henderson will be at the Watertown Free Public Library on Wednesday, April 12, 2017  6 p.m., the group announced. “This is an uplifting evening to honor all that is great in Special Education in Watertown. We have many dedicated people in our schools and the community,” Watertown SEPAC said in its announcement. Join us to recognize and honor those who have been influential in our children’s lives.  

The 2017 SEPAC Award Recipients are:

Andrew Allegro

Ellen Basile

Shane Carreiro

Kacie Kirkpatrick

Anita Lawson

 

Community Awards

George Donahue, lifetime mentor to young people with disabilities

Jasmin Hernandez, fifth-grade student at the Hosmer School

 

Marilyn Micco Parent Award

Brenda Manning

Schools

Schools Need $1.75 Million to Maintain Programs, Special Ed Costs Rising

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The Watertown Schools will need $1.75 million more next year to maintain the current staffing and programs, according to school officials, and special education costs are expected to grow in FY 2018 and beyond. The total FY18 Level Service Budget is $45,332,330 representing a 4 percent increase over FY17 (the current school year), or $1,755,330 more, said Mary C. DeLai, interim Director of Business Services. The amount includes cost of living adjustments and step increases provided in union contracts. In October, Town Manager Michael Driscoll included a 5 percent increase for the schools in his preliminary FY18 Town Budget. One area that DeLai anticipates where costs will increase is special education.