Guadalupe Union School District Report

Guadalupe Union School District Special Education Review June 23, 2009 Joel D. Montero Chief Executive Officer June 23, 2009 Hugo Lara, Superintendent Guadalupe Union School District 4465 Ninth Street PO Box 788 Guadalupe, CA 93434 Dear Superintendent Lara: In April 2009, the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) entered into an agreement with the Guadalupe Union School District for a study that required FCMAT to perform the following: 1. Conduct a review of the district’s special education department and delivery methods and provide recommendations that, if implemented, will enable the district to better serve students in a more efficient manner. FCMAT visited the district to conduct fieldwork, interview staff, and review documents. This report is the result of that effort. Thank you for allowing us to serve you, and please give our regards to all the employees of the Guadalupe Union School District. Sincerely, Joel. D Montero Chief Executive Officer FCMAT Joel D. Montero, Chief Executive Officer . . 1300 17th Street - CITY CENTRE, Bakersfield, CA 93 . 301-4533 Telephone 661-6 . 36-4611 Fax 661-63 . 6-4647 422 Petaluma Blvd North, Suite. C, Petaluma, CA 94952 Telephone: 707-775-2850 Fax: 707-775-2854 www.fcmat.org Administrative Agent: Larry E. Reider - Office of Kern County Superintendent of Schools TABLE OF CONTENTS i Table of Contents Foreword ...........................................................................iii Introduction ...................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ......................................................... 3 Findings and Recommendations ................................... 5 Fiscal Review ............................................................................................................................................5 Program Review ...................................................................................................................................11 Appendix ..........................................................................13 FOREWORD iii Foreword - FCMAT Background The Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) was created by legislation in accordance with Assembly Bill 1200 in 1992 as a service to assist local educational agencies (LEAs) in complying with fiscal accountability standards. AB 1200 was established from a need to ensure that LEAs throughout California were adequately prepared to meet and sustain their financial obligations. AB 1200 is also a statewide plan for county offices of education and school districts to work together on a local level to improve fiscal procedures and accountability standards. The legislation expanded the role of the county office in monitoring school districts under certain fiscal constraints to ensure these dis- tricts could meet their financial commitments on a multiyear basis. AB 2756 provides specific responsibilities to FCMAT with regard to districts that have received emergency state loans. These include comprehensive assessments in five major operational areas and periodic reports that identify the district’s progress on the improvement plans. In January 2006, SB 430 (charter schools) and AB 1366 (community colleges) became law and expanded FCMAT’s services to those types of LEAs. Since 1992, FCMAT has been engaged to perform nearly 750 reviews for local educational agencies, including school districts, county offices of education, charter schools and community colleges. Services range from fiscal crisis intervention to management review and assistance. FCMAT also provides professional development training. The Kern County Superintendent of Schools is the administrative agent for FCMAT. The agency is guided under the leadership of Joel D. Montero, Chief Executive Officer, with funding derived through appropriations in the state budget and a modest fee schedule for charges to requesting agencies. Study Agreements by Fiscal Year 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 Projected Total Number of Studies......................743 Total Number of Districts in CA ....982 Management Assistance ..........705 (94.886%) Fiscal Crisis/Emergency ...............38 (5.114%) Note: Some districts had multiple studies. Districts (7) that have received emergency loans from the state. (Rev. 1/22/09) Guadalupe Union School District seidutS fo rebmuN Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team INTRODuCTION 1 Introduction Background Located in northwestern Santa Barbara County, the Guadalupe Union School District serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade and is composed of two schools, Mary Buren School (K-5) and Kermit McKenzie Junior High School (6-8) The district had an enrollment of 1,127 students for the 2008-09 school year. Enrollment by ethnicity indicates that 92.6% of the student population is Hispanic or Latino, and half are English learners. In June 2009, the Guadalupe school district requested that the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) review the district’s special education programs and services. This request was made because of declining enrollment and a total general fund contribution of 49% necessary to cover the operational costs of special education and transportation. The study agreement specifies that FCMAT will perform the following. 1. Conduct a review of the district’s special education department and delivery methods and provide recommendations that if implemented will enable the district to better serve students in a more efficient manner. Study Team The study team was composed of the following members: William P. Gillaspie, Ed.D JoAnn Murphy FCMAT Chief Management Analyst FCMAT Special Education Consultant Sacramento, California Santee, California Leonel Martínez FCMAT Public Information Specialist Bakersfield, CA Study Guidelines FCMAT visited the district on June 4 and 5 2009 to conduct interviews, collect data and review documents. This report is the result of those activities and is divided into the following sections: I. Executive Summary II. Fiscal Review III. Program Review Guadalupe Union School District 2 INTRODuCTION Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team ExECuTIvE SummARy 3 Executive Summary Over the past three years, the Guadalupe Union School District has had to increase its general fund contribution to support special education programs and associated transportation services. These increases are common in most districts; however, the average general fund contribution for special education in districts throughout the state is 28%. Guadalupe Union had a 49% contribution for the 2008-09 school year. For many years, the district contracted with the Santa Barbara County Office of Education for special education and the related transportation for students with disabilities. In the 1992-93 school year, the district began providing special education and transportation services for its own students. However, the appropriate state transfer form to identify the district as a pupil transportation provider for state reimbursement purposes was never negotiated with the county office. As a result, the district has not submitted a state Annual Report of Pupil Transportation, or Form TRAN, for pupil transportation reimbursement since 1992-93, when it began providing transportation services for its own special education students. The district receives no specific funding for transportation, and the entire cost for this service comes from the general fund. This report includes recommendation to assist the district in claiming the appropriate transportation funding. To maintain a balanced budget for the 2009-10 school year, the district will reduce its staff for a savings of $1.3 million. Twelve certificated positions were reduced, including the psychologist/coordinator of special education, the director of curriculum and a counselor. FCMAT concurs with the district’s recommendation for staff reductions to achieve the necessary budgetary reductions. The district has been cautious in its use of special education resources. As a result, the program is efficient. This report provides suggestions to increase efficiency in transportation, student information management, staff training and support. Guadalupe Union School District 4 ExECuTIvE SummARy Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team FISCAL REvIEW 5 Findings and Recommendations Fiscal Review The Guadalupe Union School District general fund budget is approximately $10.5 million. The special education operating budget was $876,000 in 2008-09, including a general fund contribution of $330,000. An additional general fund contribution of $100,000 is required to cover special education transportation. The general education contribution for special education and transportation represents 49% of the special education operating budget. The statewide average reported by School Services, Inc is 28%. Over the past three years, the district has continued to increase the general fund contribution for both special education and transportation for students with disabilities. The data in the following demonstrates the increases in both areas from 2006 to2009. Adopted Budget Year General Fund Contribution General Fund Contribution Special Education Transportation (Special Education) 2006-07 268,784 76,467 2007-08 294,882 93,647 2008-09 333,000 110,000 As a participating member of the Santa Barbara Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA), the district accesses regional programs for students who are severely handicapped, emotionally disturbed, deaf and hard of hearing, visually impaired and for 26 preschool pupils. The district also provides transportation for its students to programs in the SELPA and county office. Differing salary schedules, placements on salary schedules or a combination of both can make cost containment difficult for a small district like Guadalupe Union. As a result the district must rely on regional programs to ensure the provision of special education and related services for students who require special day class (SDC). The Santa Barbara SELPA has established caseloads for all regional classes since 1998. A review of the caseload average for 2007-08 and the December caseload average for 2008 indicates that these programs continue to operate within SELPA-established averages. As the Santa Barbara SELPA initiates a shift to a pay-as-you-go services model for students in regional SDC classes, the district should explore other options and the cost- effectiveness of joining nearby districts such as the Santa Maria-Bonita School District to share special education resources. This may reduce both transportation and program costs. Guadalupe Union School District 6 FISCAL REvIEW Transportation For many years, the district contracted with the Santa Barbara County Office of Education for special education and the related transportation. In the 1992-93 school year, the district began providing its own special education programs and transportation. However, it did not negotiate a Form 141-T, or transfers-out form, with the county office to identify the district as a pupil transportation provider and begin claiming funding to transport these students. Therefore, the district has not received reimbursement for 15 years of transportation even though it was eligible. The entire cost for this service, which is approximately $100,000 per year, is supported by the unrestricted general fund. State law does not allow the district to claim reimbursement for previous years. However, Guadalupe Union should immediately negotiate a 141-T or transfer out form with the county office and begin submitting reimbursement claims on state Form TRAN. To become authorized to begin to submitting a TRAN report, the district should negotiate a 141-T or transfer the county office since that entity was the last contract provider prior to 1991- 92 budget year. The l negotiated transfer amount from the county office program should be based on historical data from the last year the county office Guadalupe Union with transportation services. Although the district’s reimbursable expense is greater t then when it ceased to receive transportation services from the county office program, the 1991-92 budget year will serve as their legitimate base year for the reimbursement calculation. Identification Rate for Students with Disabilities Analyzing the identification trends in the California Special Education Management Information System (CASEMIS) report is an effective method of determining whether a district overidentifies students for special education. This report is produced and submitted annually to the California Department of Education through the Santa Barbara County SELPA. The data presented in the following indicates that the average identification rate for district students in K-8 maintains at or below the statewide average. There is no indication that the district overidentifies students for special education. CASEMIS Data Comparison of Percentage of Students in Special Education (K-8) School Year Guadalupe Santa Barbara County State 2006- 07 10.2% 10.7% 11% 2007- 08 11.2% 11% 11% 2008-09 10.1% 11% 11% Recommendations The district should: 1. Compare costs of the current transportation provider with other local district transportation services that could be accessed through some type of interdistrict agreement to reduce the impact of rising transportation costs. Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team FISCAL REvIEW 7 2. Negotiate transfer out with Form 141-T using the 1991-92 fiscal year as the base year for reimbursement with the county office. The district should then begin claiming for reimbursement for transportation on the state TRANS report. 3. Analyze the excess costs of regional SDC classes operated by the county office and local SDC placements in other districts. The district should consider adopting the most cost efficient-methods for program flexibility and transportation costs. Guadalupe Union School District 8 FISCAL REvIEW Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team pROgRAm REvIEW 9 program Review Proposed Reductions for 2009-10 The district is working to maintain a balanced budget for the 2009-10 school year. To accomplish this, the budget must be reduced by $1.3 million in the 2008-09 and 2009- 10 school years. Thus far, this has resulted in the reduction of 12 certificated positions, including district psychologist/coordinator of special education, director of curriculum and a school counselor. The district staff indicated that 60% of the coordinator’s time is spent in IEP meetings and other activities to coordinate special education programs for 114 students. The remaining 40% is spent as a district psychologist. The coordinator does not have an administrative credential. As a result, the director of curriculum evaluated the special education certificated and classified staff in 2008-09. The coordinator of special education and the director of curriculum positions are recommended for elimination in the 2009-10 school year, and the principals would be assigned to evaluate employees and supervise programs. FCMAT concurs with the district’s recommendations to eliminate the coordinator of special education. The responsibility for overseeing special education programs and services can be effectively assumed by school site principals with appropriate training. The district is required to continue providing school psychologist services for assessments, evaluations and counseling designated on Individualized Education Plans (IEP) for students with disabilities. To maximize efficiency with a small special education population of 114 students, the district should explore options for having a part-time psychologist through an interdistrict or county office agreement. Special Education Information System (SEIS) The district uses the Special Education Information System (SEIS) to develop a centralized IEP and student records database. This system has a built-in CASEMIS error check and IEP affirm/attest process that should facilitate the provision of accurate CASEMIS data throughout the year. The system is designed to streamline the district’s twice-yearly CASEMIS reporting. The district’s operational procedures regarding the IEP process and CASEMIS data are inefficient. The process requires all IEPs to be affirmed by a full-time clerical support staff member before being entered into CASEMIS. When errors are found, the IEP is returned to the teacher to correct and resubmit. IEPs submitted on the last day of school may contain several errors that must be corrected before submission to CASEMIS for the June 2009 count. This requires a minimum of 5-7 additional days of clerical support to complete the CASEMIS data entry required for the June pupil count, a redundant process. With proper training and accountability, IEPs can be completed in compliance with federal and state law without administrative operational overlays and redundancy. Guadalupe Union School District 10 pROgRAm REvIEW Transportation Procedures All district special education students receiving transportation services also receive door- to-door transportation services. This exceeds the mandated requirement for transportation as a related service under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). If a student with a disability is capable of using the same transportation services as a nondisabled student, the IDEA does not require transportation to be listed as a related service in the IEP. Transportation decisions generally require collaboration and consensus among parents, educators and transportation personnel. The district should provide guidelines for transportation such as defining when door-to-door service is a necessary component of the IEP and when students can walk to a pick-up point. The IEP should define the transportation needs of the child. Staffing Ratios FCMAT reviewed staffing caseloads for special day classes, resource specialist and speech and language. The staffing benchmarks developed by School Services of California were used to determine the effectiveness of special day class caseloads. The district’s SDC caseloads are well within the established staffing benchmarks outlined in the following table: Comparative Analysis of SDC Benchmarks established by School Services (SSC) Disability School Services Guadalupe School District of California Severely Handicapped 10-12 students, 2 aides 12 students, 2.5 aides Nonseverely Handicapped 12-15 students, 1 aide 15 students, 1 aide SDC classes are appropriately staffed with teacher and instructional aide support. Resource specialists have average caseloads of 23 and are also appropriately staffed with teacher and instructional aide support. Speech pathologists caseloads are also appropriate; however, the district should plan for the support of an interpreter for bilingual students during assessment. A bilingual resource should be assigned to support speech and language assessment in Spanish.. Recommendations The district should: 1. Finalize the reduction in force for the coordinator of special education position at a cost savings of $40,436 per year. 2. Explore options to share school psychologist resources with either the county office or a nearby district through a cooperative arrangement. Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team pROgRAm REvIEW 11 3. Use American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to provide staff and administrator training on the IEP process and compliance. Specific training should be provided for site administrators on information necessary to provide guidance and support to special education programs. 4. Provide teachers with training on SEIS to ensure that all IEPs are developed in conformance with the law and submitted to the district ready for submission to CASEMIS. ARRA funds should be used for this purpose. 5. Use ARRA funds to upgrade the efficiency of the SEIS system of student information to eliminate redundancy and ensure that site administrators have up-to-date compliance information on time lines for evaluations and overall IEP compliance. 6. Increase teacher accountability for accuracy in IEP development 7. Establish accountability requirements for timely submission of accurate IEP data before teachers leave for the summer in June. This can be included as a check-off requirement with the school site principal and verified by the special education CASEMIS clerk. 8. Develop board policy and procedure for transportation as a related service on the IEP. Guidelines should be provided for IEP teams regarding the criteria for door- to-door transportation as distinguished from pick up at a designated bus stop. Guadalupe Union School District 12 pROgRAm REvIEW Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team AppENDIx 13 Appendix A. Study Agreement Guadalupe Union School District 14 AppENDIx Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team AppENDIx 15 Guadalupe Union School District 16 AppENDIx Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team AppENDIx 17 Guadalupe Union School District 18 AppENDIx Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team