Lincoln School Committee approves above-guideline FY24 budget with new coaches and BCBA

LINCOLN -- January 26, 2023, Lincoln School Committee unanimously backs $13.4M Lincoln budget and $17.9M Hanscom plan, both above guideline. The Jan. 26 votes endorse a roughly $383,000 above-guideline request for the Lincoln campus to fund a districtwide instructional coaching model, a 0.6 dually licensed adjustment counselor and BCBA tied to the Foundations Program, and an extra 1 percent cushion for teacher contract negotiations. A separate vote authorized up to $172,000 from the Hanscom reserve. Superintendent Becky McFall called the BCBA hire "a cost avoidance measure" against out-of-district placements; Assistant Superintendent Jess Rose argued coaching pushes workshop-based PD adoption from about 10 percent to over 90 percent. Administrator Lisa reported special education enrollment has climbed from 14.2 percent in 2013 to 20.7 percent in 2022. Finance Committee takes up the budget article Feb. 2.