The Garden City Board of Education and residents scrutinized several instructional components of the 2006/2007 budget at a work session held on Monday evening. The session focused on Pupil Personnel Services (PPS), instructional and administrative technology and athletics.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen explained that more PPS staffing is needed, mostly due to the new federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which will take effect on Sept. 1. Staffing will be increased by 4.7, 3.3 because of the new IDEA and 1.4 for in-district programs like co-teaching and programs for students with significant special education needs. The budget calls for 1.8 special education teachers, one speech teacher and a .5 psychologist.

"The new IDEA...says that everyone in the school district, regardless of their district of residence, must be serviced by the Garden City School District or whatever school district the private or parochial school exists in," explained Dr. Feirsen. "So, we are now going to be required to service directly a significantly larger pool of students than we had before."

Sending districts will reimburse the district for the additional professional staffing. According to Dr. Feirsen, the rate will be set by the state and has not yet been determined. The district will not be reimbursed for a part-time clerical position required to handle the necessary paperwork.

Special education is the most regulated aspect of public education and is governed by many federal and state regulations. As of February 22, there were 444 students with disabilities: 401 in district, 25 out of district and 18 placed by a parent. Since most of the regulations are unfunded, taxpayers are footing a large part of the bill. The district tries to keep the costs down by first trying to adapt the general education program before a student is referred for special education services.

One cost-saving measure has been the standardization of related service contracts for speech, occupational and physical therapy. The district saves a substantial transportation expense by trying to return students who are placed in programs out of the district. Garden City also accepts students from other districts, which generates revenue from tuition. The district also tries to avoid costly litigation by utilizing the IDEA resolution process.

In the area of technology, Dr. Feirsen said major initiatives for the high school include laptop carts: one for the science department for use with probes; two for the social studies department to support and extend classroom instruction and research; and two for the English department for classroom writing and research. The department would also like to upgrade memory in classroom computers and add DVD players, and replace printers where necessary.

At the Middle School, the budget includes purchasing approximately 10 SMART Boards and projectors for select classrooms, the memory upgrade of computers more than two years old and the replacement of printers where necessary. Budgeted software includes reading software for grades two and three to existing software currently used in kindergarten and first grade; science software for both middle and high school; and math software for middle school. The district would also like to upgrade its Web site. The budget also includes funding for a new Web-based student information system that will provide greater opportunities for data mining and analysis, faster and more powerful queries and quicker response times.

Turning to athletics, Dr. Feirsen announced that the number of teams will remain the same for next year. Four assistant coaches are proposed for Middle School teams with large enrollments: two for girls' lacrosse, football and track and field. There will be some reductions in intramural supervisors. A new set of soccer goals with wheels is requested to allow for easier movement on the new artificial turf field.

The Board will focus on all non-instructional, administrative and capital components of the budget at a work session scheduled for March 6th at 8:15 p.m. in the High School cafeteria.